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LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE 



^ r\} 






OP 



JOHN PAUL JONES, 



II 



INCLUDING HIS 



NARRATIVE 



OP THE 



CAMPAIGN OF THE LIMAN 



PROM ORIGINAL LBTTER^ftSTD l^NUSCRIPTS 
IN THE POSaljwON 

JMISS JANETm tAlOR. 







• -1 ' i 



1830. 



^ ^ 



^oyS^^ 








/ 

Southern District of New York, ss. 

verse, of the said District hath Hpn^Lfl ■ 1- i ^^' ,°^ America, Sherman Con- 
whereof he claims as SieYor! ftfvtds Sfol^l twU ^ '' ' '''''' ''^ ''^'' 

pai^n 'o^;- t"e\ W Trot"S-r4';:K^^^^ Jones including his Narrative of the Cam- 
Janette Taylor." ^ ^''"^^ ^^'^ Manuscripts in the possession of Miss 

thi"enrSili:^'i\tlrn/bv"!r" ''''if ^"''^^ ^'^'''' -"''«^' " ^^ Act for 
to the authors a^d pro^prieS'ofVurT'^ ''^'"^'^ 'I ^■''^'' ^^'^'''' ^"^ Books, 
And also to an ActSed " An Zf.^^T' ''"""^ '^^ ^""" '^^'^'"' '"entioned." 
the encouragemen'of Learninir hvl ' ^^PP ?'"«"t^'T ^^^ Act, entitled an Act for 
to the authors and pJopSS J^,^.h . "■• "^ the cop.es of Maps, Charts, and Books, 
extending the bene^sTereof to tS* 'rZf'd """^" the tmies therein mentioned, and 
cal and other prints." th^^f|es.gnmg, engraving, and etching histori- 

1 FRED. J. BETTS, 

trkofth^ Southern District of New York. 




PREFACE. 

Paul Jones was an extraordinary man, and was en- 
gaged suddenly, after having been in a comparatively 
humble employment, in a career connected with events 
which occupied the attention of the civihzed world. Set- 
ting aside the services rendered by him to the cause of 
American freedom, there would be no need of preface 
or explanation in presenting an account of his life, and 
selections from the most interesting portions of his cor- 
respondence to the public at large ; were it not that 
several works, professing to do so, have already made 
their appearance. 

The first which the Editor of the present work re- 
members to have seen, was a shilling pamphlet, exhibit- 
ed in the windows of the New York retail bookstores, 
in which was a frontispiece, representing Paul Jones as 
largo as the frigate he bestrode, shooting a Lieutenant 
Grubb with a horse-pistol, more grand in its dimensions 
than any piece of artillery introduced into the picture. 
This juvenile reminiscence would be hardly worth 
recalling, were it not that, but the other day, in one of 
the Southern papers, the writer actually met with a de- 
tailed account, purporting to be a biographical sketch 
of somebody recently dead, who had served under Paul 
Jones in the Serapis, describing the latter as shooting 
this Lieutenant Grubb, with the same horse-pistol, 
aggrandized in the manner above specified. As no Lieu- 



PREFACE 



tenant Grubb ever sailed under the orders of Captain 
John Paul Jones, and as no such person could, in con- 
sequence, have been shot by him, it is evident that an 
unvarnished and full account of the rear admiral's life 
ought to be circulated, in regions where such fabulous 
and monstrous legends obtain, in this age of light, ad- 
mission into public prints. 

Ten years ago, a large quantity of original papers 
belonging to the legatees of Paul Jones, were sent to 
this country with a view to their being properly con- 
nected and published. They were submitted to the 
Historical Society of New York. The committee who 
exammed them, found that they were valuable and inter- 
estmg ; but circumstances prevented their publication 
at the time. Mr. Sherburne, register of the United 
States navy, opened a correspondence with the owners 
of these documents, as the Editor of the present work is 
informed, with the view of preparing a life of Jones ; 
but, the negotiation failed. 

Shortly after, some of the Chevalier's manuscripts, 
belongmg to his legatees, if they had known how and 
where to reclaim them, were accidentally found by a 
gentleman of New York, in a house in the city. They 
had been left in the custody of its former proprietor 
From these, with copies of letters and documents on 
file m the department of state, Mr. Sherburne prepared 
a volume which was published in 1825. 

Some singularly capricious demon, wonderfully inge- 
luous m producing puzzlmg and painful disorder, seems 
to have presided over the arrangement of the materials. 
Ihe appearance of order in some parts of the compila- 
tion only makes the general and particular entangle 
ments more perplexing; and in some places, the 



PREFACE. 5 

person who connected the documents, having apparently 
lost himself, goes backwards or leaps forwards, in a style 
of extraordinary embarrassment, occasioning inextrica- 
ble confusion. 

• From this chaos, a clever writer in Great Britain con- 
trived to select materials for an interesting duodecimo, 
which was published by Murray in the same year. It 
contains some errors, and but an inconsiderable portion 
of the Remains, as the modern phrase is, of the Cheva- 
lier Paul Jones. Being not exclusively English in its 
tenor, it appears to have incurred the censure of some 
of the British presses. This work has been spoken of 
in the text as the production of an Englishman. The 
compiler was not well informed at the time. It was 
the production of an American. 

Within a year past a third life of the Chevalier ap- 
peared, which was published in Edinburgh in two duode- 
cimo volumes, and is the best which had been compiled; 
as it contains selections from many original letters, and, 
what is of more consequence, a translation of the rear 
admiral's own narrative of the campaign of the Liman. 
The Editor of that book, which is the basis, so far as 
the order of arrangement is generally concerned, of the 
present, gives in his preface the following account of his 
materials. 

" By his will, dated at Paris on the day of his death, Paul Jones left 
his property and effects of all kinds to his sisters in Scotland and their 
children. Immediately on his decease a regular, or rather an official 
inventory was made of his voluminous papers, which were sealed up 
with his other effects, till brought to Scotland by his eldest sister, Mrs. 
Taylor, a few months after his death. They have ever since remained 
in the custody of his family ; and are now, by inheritance, become the 
property of his niece. Miss Taylor, of Dumfrie.«. They consist of 
several bound folio volumes of letters and documents, which are offi- 



O PREFAC*:. 

cially autlieuticatetl, so far as they are public papers ; lumierous scrolls 
and copies of letters ; and many private communications, originating 
in his widely diftiised correspondence in France, Holland, America, 
and other quarters. There is, in addition to these, a collection of wri- 
tings of the miscellaneous kind likely to be accumulated by a man of 
active habits, who had for many years mingled both in the political and 
fashionable circles, wher(!vcr bechanced to be thrown. 

" The Journal of the Campaign of 1788, against the Turks, forms of 
itself a thick MS. bound volume. This Journal was drawn up by Paul 
Jones for the perusal of the Empress Catharine II. and was intended for 
pubUcation if the Russian government failed to do him justice. He 
felt that it totally failed ; but death anticipated his long contemplated 
purpose. To this Journal, Mr. Eton, in his survey of the Turkish em- 
pire, refers, as having been seen by him. It was, however, only the 
official report, transmitted by Paul Jones to the admiralty of the Black 
Sea, that this gentleman could have seen. This singular narrative, 
which so confidently gives the lie to all the Russian statements of that 
momentous campaign, is written in French. In the following work 
the language of the original is as closely adhered to as is admissible 
even in the most literal translation. Several passages have been 
omitted, and others curtailed, as they refer merely to technical details, 
which might have unduly swelled this work, without adding niuch to 
its interest. Much of the voluminous official cori-espondence which 
passed between Paul Jones and the other commanders during the 
campaign is also omitted. These Pieces Justificative s were only in- 
tended to corroborate, or elucidate, the narrative ; they are, save in a 
few instances which are cited, not particularly interesting." 

Besides the documents named in the foregoing ex- 
tracts, the Editor says, he had before him the corres- 
pondence of Jones with his relatives in Scotland, from 
his boyhood to his death. He has made but little use 
of it, as his extracts from it are few. 

The defects of this life are, that it seems to have been 
created with a view of supplying a requisite number of 
pages of given dimensions, and that some of the corres- 
pondence, is, in consequence, arbitrarily omitted. It is 
not strictly true, that the language of the original Jour- 



PREFACE. 7 

nal of the campaign of the Liman is as closely adhered 
to, as is consistent with Hteral translation ; and as to 
the passages " omitted and curtailed," the Editor has 
occupied fully as much space in apologizing for their 
non-insertion, as would have been taken up by a literal 
translation of them. He appears not to have under- 
stood them. Among the Pieces Justificatives spoken 
of, there are several worthy of collation with the text, 
and which throw light upon it, while they support its 
accuracv. But the cardinal defect of this book is, that 
though the author seems honestly to strive to justify his 
hero, (who needed no justification,) whenever it did not 
interfere with his own monarchical and English pre- 
judices, it is written in a decidedly English tone, un- 
congenial to the feelings and intellectual associations 
of the people of this country. His remarks of a politi- 
cal character are often ridiculous in fact, and always 
unphilosophical in spirit. The Editor of the following 
sheets, cannot but smile when he perceives on looking 
over them, that a hasty remark thrown off by him as to 
the destinies of France, excited by the sneers of this 
writer, at the tendency of the democratic principle, was 
prophetic, and must have been fulfilled ere it was 
printed, to the great consolation of the spirit of Jones, 
if mortal " blazon" may be to ears not " of flesh and 
blood." 

Miss Janette Taylor, a niece of Admiral Jones, ar- 
rived in this country some months ago, having in her 
possession original copies of all the documents which 
were before the Editor of the biography above com- 
mented upon, with others which were not. Though a 
considerable portion of them had been anticipated in 
the various publications mentioned, it was evident that 



8 PREFACE. 

there was no single work of a proper and satisfactory 
character, from which Americans might gather for 
themselves what is to be known of the private and pub- 
lic life of one, who must for ever be chronicled as among 
the first in courage and ability, as well as in point of 
time, of the heroes who have made the stars and stripes 
respected upon the ocean; one too, whose chivalric, 
daring, and independent character, calumny has been 
aided in assailing, by seeming mystery and prolific ro- 
mance. 

From the manuscripts in Miss Taylor's possession, 
the present compilation has been made. Public docu- 
ments have been referred to occasionally, and in two or 
three instances, Sherburne's Collection has been cited, 
where the Editor had not certified copies before him. 
This work has no literary pretensions; and cannot 
legitimately come, as a literary production, under the 
examination of critics. It claims only to be the most 
full and authentic of its kind. Many oflicial letters 
have of necessity been rejected, the substance and even 
the phraseology of which is repeated in others ; and in 
some instances, it is perceived, on looking over the 
sheets, that the latter misfortune has been incurred. 

When it is added, that Miss Taylor is only responsi- 
ble for the authenticity of the correspondence quoted 
from or inserted, and in no wise for the casual observa- 
tions of the compiler, all has been stated that is neces- 
sary in this preface. It is believed, that the pledge 
given in the notice to those who may have subscribed 
for the book has been redeemed. 

New York, September 23, 1830. 



PAUL JONES. 



PART I 

John Paul, afterwards known as the celebrated Chevalier 
John Paul Jones, was born on the 6th of July, 1747, at Arbig- 
land, in the parish of Kirkbean, and stew'artry of Kirkcud- 
bright, in Scotland. The family was originally from the shire 
of Fife ; but it appears that the grandfather of the subject of this 
memoir kept a garden, the produce of which he sold to the public 
in Leith. His son, on finishing his apprenticeship, entered as a 
gardener into the employment of Mr. Craik, of Arbigland, in 
which he remained until his death in 1767. It is abundantly 
proved that he was a man of uniformly respectable character, 
and intelligence. In his profession he exhibited much skill 
and taste. The English memoir contains the following ac- 
count of his family, v. hich was furnished by his descendants. 

" Shortly after entering into the employment of Mr. Craik, 
John Paul married J.ean Macduff, the daughter of a small farmer 
in the neighbouring parish of New-Abbey. The Macduffs 
were a respectable rural race in their own district ; and some of 
them had been small landed proprietors in the parish of Kirk- 
bean, for an immemorial period. Of this marriage there were 
seven children, of whom John, afterwards known as John Paul 
•Tones, was the fifth : he may indeed be called the youngest, 
as two children born after him died in infancy. The first-born 
of the family, Wilha;iL Pg^l, went abroad early in life, and 



14 PAUL JONES. 

finally settled and married in Fredericksburgh, in Virginia. He 
appears to have been a man of enterprise and judgment. Be- 
yond his early education and virtuous habits he could have de- 
rived no advantage from his family ; and, in 1772 or 1773, when 
he died, still a young man, he left a considerable fortune. Of 
the daughters, the eldest, Elizabeth, died unmarried ; Janet, 
the second, married Mr. Taylor, a watchmaker in Dumfries ; 
and the third, Mary Ann, was twice married, first to a Mr. 
Young-, and afterwards to Mr. Louden. Of the relations O- 
Admiral Jones, several nieces, and a grand-nephew, now in the 
United States, still survive." 

When John Paul, the fifth of this family, afterwards became 
the terror of the seac*, the hero of a hundred fearful legends, and 
the subject of admiration and jealousy in the most brilliant 
courts, it was natural enough that so modest a paternity should 
neither satisfy the romance of the imaginative, nor the antipa- 
thy of the envious and intimidated ; and many stories were 
current, some assigning to him Mr. Craik, and others an earl 
of Selkirk, as his father. These weak inventions have long 
since been exploded, though preserved in the pages of fanciful 
novelists. In answer to an inquiry of BarOn Yander Capellan, 
in 1779, Jones says, " I never had any obligation to Lord Sel- 
kirk, except for his good opinion ; nor does he know me or 
mine, except by character." This is verified by the whole 
tenor of the correspondence which we shall have occasion to 
introduce. 

If ever localities might be inferred to have determined the in- 
tellectual bias of an individual, the birthplace of John Paul, and 
the scenery and associations of its vicinity, may be cited as ad- 
mirably calculated to lay the groundwork for the restless spirit 
of adventure, an inclination for poetry, and an occasional ima- 
ginary longing for solitude, study, and rural retirement, all of 
which, without any real inconsistency, were subsequently deve- 
loped in his character. 

His father lived near the shores of the Solway, in one of the 
most picturesque and beautiful points of the Frith. The 



PAUL JONES. 15 

favourite pastime of his earliest years was to launch his " fairy 
frigate" on the waters, and issue commands to his supposed 
officers and crew. At this time, the town of Dumfries carried 
on a considerable trade in tobacco with America, the cargoes of 
which were unshipped at the Carse-thorn,nearthemouth of the 
river Nith, which was not then navigable by foreign vessels. 
His daily intercourse with seamen here, tended of course to 
strengthen and confirm his nascent passion. It is also observed 
that his regard for America, and his willingness to descend with 
fire and sword, in her cause, upon the shores of his native land, 
which were thought unnatural, may have had their origin in the 
conversations of mariners from the discontented colonies. 

Certain it is that his disposition to begin his career upon the 
ocean was so strong, that his friends deemed it proper to yield 
to it. At the age of twelve, he was bound apprentice to Mr. 
Younger, a respectable merchant in the American trade, resid- 
ing at Whitehaven, on the opposite side of Solway Frith. Vul- 
gar invention, in its distorted picture of his life and actions, 
assumed that he ran away to sea against the will of his rela- 
tions, a rumour which they always declared to be totally without 
foundation. Neither then, nor at any subsequent period, was 
he wanting in affection for them, and solicitude for their welfare. 
His anxiety for the comforts and respectability of his sisters 
and their families, was warmly and substantially expressed in 
his prosperity, and at his death he bequeathed to them all his 
property. 

His education at the parish school of Kirkbean, must of course 
have been limited, but there is no doubt he improved it to the 
best advantage. The general correctness of his style and or- 
thography indicate that he had been well instructed in the rudi- 
ments of grammar. Notwithstanding his strong relish for active 
and dangerous adventure, he devoted its intervals to close ap- 
plication to study. While in port, whether abroad or at 
Whitehaven, during the period of his apprenticeship, he applied 
himself to learning the theory of navigation, and to other sub- 
jects of practical use. Many years after, we find him in one of 



16 PAUL JONES. 

his letters, while modestly admitting that much more accom 

* 

plished seamen might be found than himself, referring to hours 
of systematic " midnight" study. In the letters written in 
French, which are in his own hand, the spelling rs infinitely 
more accurate than that of many of his illustrious and titled 
correspondents. These circumstances show that his mental 
culture was methodically and well begun : and these habits of 
mind are not such as belong to a reckless adventurer in quest 
of mere private emolument or personal fame. 

He made his first voyage before he was thirteen, in the 
Friendship, of Whitehaven, Caj^tain Benson, bound for the 
Rappahannock. His home, while in port, was the house of an 
elder brother, William, who had married and settled in Virginia. 
His prepossessions in favour of America, and sympathy with 
colonial feelings, were here naturally fostered under circum- 
stances calculated to make them keen and enduring ; indissolu- 
bly connected as they were with his first professional impressions. 
The correctness of his conduct, and his extraordinary intelli- 
gence and aptitude for acquiring knowledge in naval matters, 
caused him to be most favourably regarded by his master. Mr. 
Younger, however, soon found his affairs embarrassed ; and 
was induced, in consequence, to give up Paul's indentures. 
This license to act for himself, woulc' have been, to a boy whose 
purposes in living were not in some measure fixed, and whose 
will was undecided as to the future, a passport to obscurity, if 
not to disgrace. In Paul's case, it was sumpta prudenier. He 
availed himself of it wisely, having confidence in himself. He 
obtained the appointment of third mate of the King George, of 
Whitehaven, a vessel engaged in the slave trade. In 1766, he 
shipped as chief mate, on board the brigantine Two Friends, 
of Kingston, Jamaica, which was engaged in the same traffic. 
It is said by the friends of Paul, that he became disgusted with 
the business of stealing human beings, and left the ship on its 
arrival in the West Indies. Independently of their evidence, 
which is in every respect entitled to credit, the supposition will 
be found to be confirmed by the uniform tenor of his correspon- 



PAUL JONES. m 

dence, whenever he speaks of the principles of action* which he 
asserts to have governed his services and enterprises. And it 
is fair to infer, that the exhibition of these horrors, at which his 
feehngs revolted, strengthened his love for that liberty in whose 
cause he afterwards fought ; and for that land which knew how 
to vindicate the cause of liberty. And he had the means of 
knowing then and thereafter, why that land suffered under the 
curse introduced by those whose yoke it was about shaking off; 
though it could not shake off the baleful legacy now pointed to 
as its disgrace, by the ignorant and hireling politicians, or 
maundering and useless philanthropists of the mother land — 
that " nursing mother" of convicts and slaves, and " stern rug- 
ged nurse" of our pilgrim fathers. 

It is stated, at any rate, by those from whom alone any infor- 
mation can be derived, as to Paul's adventures at this period, 
that he returned to Scotland from this second slaving-voyage, as 
a passenger, in the brigantine John, of Kirkcudbright, Captain 
Macadam commander. On this voyage the captain and mate 
both died of fever ; and there being no one on board equally 
capable of navigating the ship, Paul assumed the command, 
and brought her safe into port. For this service he was ap- 
pointed by the owners, Currie, Beck, &, Co., master and super- 
cargo. 

It appears that Paul sailed for two voyages, as master, in 
the employment of this firm, and, sometime in the course of 
the year 1780, found it necessary, in order to preserve his 
authority and enforce discipline, to punish a man named Mungo 
Maxwell, borne on the books as carpenter of the vessel. Mun- 
go, being whipped, (as he no douht deserved to be, according 
to the practical code which still prevails in the English and 
American mercantile marine service,) stated to the authorities 
at Tobago, that his back was sore, and that his feelings were 
hurt ; both of which representations they seem to have believed 



* For which "he drew his sword;" an expression which he makes use of in all his 
letters, whenever he speaks of his employment as a naval commander. 

2 



18 PAUL JONES. 

in, without feeling themselves called upon to heal the one, or 
to sooth the other. But it appears that he subsequently insti- 
tuted a prosecution against Paul in England, which gave the 
latter some trouble, as will be seen by a letter from him to his 
mother and sisters, which we shall presently introduce. 

There would scarcely be any necessity of mentioning this cir- 
cumstance at all, were it not that calumny founded upon it one 
of its grossest charges against him who was afterwards the 
Chevalier Paul Jones ; that he was accused by vulgar rumour 
of torturing Mungo, by the process of flagellation, in a manner 
which caused his death ; and that his enemies did not disdain to 
rake up this legend, when he had the glory and the misfortune 
of exciting the jealousy of the Russian courtiers. All the au- 
thentic particulars of the transaction which we can obtain now, 
are, that being invested with a legitimate authority, which 
it was more peculiarly necessary for the preservation of the 
vessel and cargo, on that account, to sustain, Paul punished a 
sailor for rebellion and sullen impudence ; and that the subject 
of discipline was displeased, as was naturally to be expected. 
The following are the official documents which Paul thought 
proper, or found it expedient to procure, in relation to this trans- 
action. 

' Tobago. 

" Before the Honourable Lieutenant-Governor, William 
Young, Esq. of the island aforesaid, personally appeared James 
Simpson, Esq. who, being duly sworn upon the Holy Evangelists 
of Almighty God, deposeth and saith. That some time about the 
beginning of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven 
hundred and seventy, a person in the habit of a sailor came to 
this deponent (who was at that time Judge Surrogate of the 
Court of Vice-Admiralty for the island aforesaid) with a com- 
plaint against John Paul, (commander of a brigantine then lying 
in Rockley Bay of the said island,) for having beat the then 
complainant, (who belonged to the said John Paul's vessel,) at 
the same time showing this deponent his shoulders, which had 
thereon the marks of several stripes, but none that were either 



PAUL JONES. Id 

mortal or dangerous, to the best of this deponent's opinion and 
belief. And this deponent further saith, that he did summon the 
said John Paul before him, who, in his vindication, alleged that 
the said complainant had on all occasions proved very ill quali- 
fied for, as well as very negligent in, his duty ; and also, that he 
was very lazy and inactive in the execution of his, the said John 
Paul's lawfid commands, at the same time declaring his sorrow 
for having corrected the complainant. And this deponent fur- 
ther saith, that having dismissed the complaint as frivolous, the 
complainant, as this deponent believes, returned to his duty. 
And this deponent further saith, that he has since understood 
that the said complainant died afterwards on board of a dif- 
ferent vessel, on her passage to some of the Leeward Islands, 
and that the said John Paul (as this deponent is informed) has 
been accused in Great Britain as the immediate author of the 
said complainant's death, by means of the said stripes herein be- 
fore mentioned, which accusation this deponent, for the sake of 
justice and humanity, in the most solemn manner declares, and 
believes to be, in his judgment, without any just foundation, so 
far as relates to the stripes before mentioned, which this depo- 
nent very particularly examined. And further this deponent 
saith not. 

"James Simpson. 
" Sworn before me, this 30th day of 
June, 1772, William Young." 

" James Eastment, mariner, and late master of the Barcelona 
packet, maketh oath, and saith. That Mungo Maxwell, carpen- 
ter, formerly on board the John, Captain John Paul, master, 
came in good health on board his, this deponent's! said vessel, 
then lying in Great Rockley Bay, in the island of Tobago, about 
the middle of the month of June, in the year one thousand seven 
hundred and seventy, in the capacity of a carpenter, aforesaid ; 
that he acted as such in every respect in perfect health for some 
days after he came on board this deponent's said vessel, the 
Barcelona uack^* • after which he was taken ill of a fever and 



20 PAUL JONES. 

lowness of spirits, which continued for four or five days, when 
he died on board the said vessel, during her passage from To- 
bago to Antigua. And this deponent further saith, that he never 
heard the said Mungo Maxwell complain of having received any 
ill usage from the said Captain John Paul ; but that he, this 
deponent, verily believes the said Mungo Maxwell's death was 
occasioned by a fever and lowness of spirits, as aforesaid, and 
not by or through any other cause or causes whatsoever. 

" James Eastment. 
" Sworn at the Mansion House, London, 

this 30th of January, 1773, before me, 

James Townsend, Mayor." 

" These do certify to whom it may concern, that the bearer, 
Captain John Paul, was two voyages master of a vessel called 
the John, in our employ in the West India trade, during which 
time he approved himself every way qualified both as a naviga- 
tor and supercargo ; but as our present firm is dissolved, the 
vessel was sold, and of course he is out of our employ, all ac- 
counts between him and the owners being amicably adjusted. 
Certified at Kirkcudbright this 1st of April, 1771. 

" CuRRiE, Beck, &, Co. 

The following is the letter to his mother and sisters, written 
more than two years after the affair in question, during which 
time he must have made other voyages. 

" London, 2Uh September, 1772. 
"Mt dear mother and sisters, 

"I only arrived here last night from the Grenadas. I have 
had but poor health during the voyage ; and my success in it 
not having equalled my first sanguine expectations, has added 
very much to the asperity of my misfortunes, and, I am well 
assured, Avas the cause of my loss of health. I am now, how- 
ever, better, and I trust Providence will soon put me in a way 
to get bread, and (which is by far my greatest happiness) be 



PAUL JONES. 21 

serviceable to my poor but much-valued friends. I am able to 
give you no account of my future proceedings, as they depend 
upon circumstances vrhich are not fully determined. 

" I have enclosed you a copy of an affidavit made before 
Governor Young by the Judge of the Court of Vice- Admiralty of 
Tobago, by which you will see with how little reason my Ufe has 
been thirsted after, and, which is much dearer to me, my honour, 
by maliciously loading my fair character with obloquy and vile 
aspersions. I believe there are few who are hard-hearted enough 
to think I have not long since given the world every satisfaction 
in my power, being conscious of my innocence before Heaven, 
who will one day judge even my judges. I staked my honour, life, 
and fortune for six long months on the verdict of a British jury, 
notwithstanding I was sensible of the general prejudices which 
ran against me ; but, after all, none of my accusers had the cou- 
rage to confront me. Yet I am willing to convince the world, 
if reason and facts will do it, that they have had no foundation 
for then- harsh treatment. I mean to send Mr. Craik a copy 
properly proved, as his nice feelings will not perhaps be other- 
ways satisfied ; in the mean time, if you please, you may show 
him that enclosed. His ungracious conduct to me before I left 
Scotland I have not yet been able to get the better of. Every 
person of feeling must think meanly of adding to the load of the 
afflicted. It is true I bore it with seeming unconcern, but Hea- 
ven can witness for me, that I suffered the more on that very 
account. But enough of this." * * * 

The precise nature of the ungracious conduct of Craik, refer- 
red to in the foregoing letter cannot now be explained with pre- 
cision, but may easily be conjectured. Paul looked up to this 
gentleman as the former patron of his father, and existing pro- 
tector of his mother and sisters, with gratitude and deference, 
and probably with a warmth of respectful regard, which was 
chilled by the mortifying coldness of a cautious reception, such 
as it is reasonable to infer he may have met with from Mr. Craik, 
to whom his conduct had been misrepresented. He had, no 
doubt, taken it for granted that his own simple statements 



22 PAUL JONES. 

would be sufficient to satisfy what he calls the " nice feelings" of 
that gentleman ; in which expectation it would seem that he 
was disappointed. It is known that Mr. C. subsequently ex- 
culpated him from all blame in the affair of Mungo. The fol- 
lowing letter appears to have been the last which Paul ever ad- 
dressed to him. 

" St. Georges, Grenada, 5th Aug. 1770. 
" Sir, 

" Common report here says that my owners are going to fin- 
ish their connexions in the West Indies as fast as possible. How 
far this is true, I shall not pretend to judge ; but should that 
really prove the case, you know the disadvantages I must of 
course labour under. 

" These, however, would not have been so great had I been 
acquainted with the matter sooner, as in that case I believe I 
could have made interest with some gentlemen here to have been 
concerned with me in a large ship out of London ; and as these 
gentlemen have estates in this and the adjacent islands, I should 
have been able to make two voyages every year, and always had 
a full ship out and home, &c. &c. &c. 

" However, I by no means repine, as it is a maxim with me 
to do my best, and leave the rest to Providence. I shall take 
no step whatever without your knowledge and approbation. 

" I have had several very severe fevers lately, which have re- 
duced me a good deal, though I am now perfectly recovered. 

" I must beg you to supply my mother, should she want any 
thing, as I well know your readiness. 

" I hope yourself and family enjoy health and happiness. I 
am, most sincerely. Sir, your's always, 

"John Paul." 

Shortly after this period, Paul commanded the Betsy of Lon- 
don, a vessel engaged in the West India trade. He has been 
accused of being concerned in the smuggling business, which 



PAUL JONES. 23 

was at this time carried on to a great extent by those who lived 
along the shores of the Solway ; a charge which he always 
solemnly denied, and which there is not a particle of evidence 
to support. On the contrary, the very first entry of licensed 
goods from England, made in the Isle of Man after it was an- 
nexed to the crown, stands in his name in the Custom House 
books at Douglas, being of the first rum regularly imported 
there. His commercial speculations in the West Indies were 
various and extensive. His letters in relation to them, written 
at different subsequent periods, may in general be more con- 
veniently introduced in their chronological order. In 1771 he 
saw his relations in Scotland for the last time. In 1773 he went 
to Virginia, to arrange the affairs of his brother William, who 
had died childless and intestate. He left funds at Tobago and 
elsewhere, which the faithlessness of his agents prevented him 
from realizing as he had expected. He was soon to be called 
upon to act in the great struggle for liberty, whose coming events 
were to swallow up in their importance the calculations of pri- 
vate interest. 

There can be no doubt that at this time he thought he had 
determined to devote the rest of his life to the peaceful pursuits 
of agriculture, study, and domestic life ; or as he phrases it, in 
one of his favourite quotations, to " calm contemplation and po- 
etic ease." In his letter to the Countess of Selkirk, in which he 
affirms that such was his fixed purpose, he also speaks of having 
been led to " sacrifice not only his favourite scheme of life, but 
the softer affections of his heart, and his hopes of domestic hap- 
piness." We have no data from which to infer that these 
schemes, affections, and hopes, revolved around any ascertained 
and existing orb, and centre of attraction ; or that Paul felt 
any more distinct longing than that inspired by the general he- 
soin (T aimer, proper to his age and imaginative temperament. 
The latter was vastly different from that given by our modern 
poets and moralists to their corsairs and pirates, and pilots in 
disguise. Paul's letters show throughout that he had a sense 
of moral and religious obligation, tinged with a true chivalric 



24 PAFL JONES. 

feeling, such as does not belong to robbers and cut-throats. 
His early education was in Scotland. We find, too, that 
Thomson was his favourite poet. It is unnecessary, in addi- 
tion to his own reiterated assertions, to cite the common-places 
of those who have best studied human nature, and whose re- 
marks have become proverbs, — or parallel cases in real life, — to 
strengthen our belief that it was his intention at this time to 
abandon the sea-service ; to plant and sow, and reap and gather, 
in the due seasons of seed time and harvest ; to take care of an 
interesting family ; and accept the terms of the curse which a 
distinguished profligate once thought so dreadful, of "being 
married, and settled in the country." 

It would, however, be equally unwise to believe, that this 
dream of " calm contemplation and domestic ease," would not, 
under the most favourable circumstances for the encouragement 
of the illusion, soon have proved its relationship to all the waking 
and sleeping family of phantasms. Paul Vas born for excite- 
ment and for action ; and his rural and pastoral meditations 
were but the solicited relaxations of the mind, craving them as 
the body does its natural repose. 

It is not unlikely that at this time the details and associations 
of West India trading voyages seemed disgusting to him. It 
would appear indeed, from the following passage in a letter al- 
ready referred to, addressed to the Hon. Robert Morris three 
years after this period, that his commercial aflfairs had become 
temporarily entangled. He says, " I conclude that Mr. Hewes 
has acquainted you with a very great misfortune which befell me 
some years ago, and which brought me into North America. I 
am under no concern whatever, that this, or any other past cir- 
cumstance of my life, will sink me in your opinion. Since human 
wisdom cannot secure us from accidents, it is the greatest effort 
of human wisdom to bear them well." It is evident from his 
relations to the distinguished person he was writing to, from the 
frankness of his language, and his subsequent arrangement of 
all his obligations, that this " great misfortune" must have been 
a disappointment in business, on which no shadow of censure 



PAUL JONES. 



25 



could, without iniquity, be cast. This disappointment, or one 
which was connected with it, is probably referred to in the letter 
inserted below, addressed to a valued friend, Mr. Stuart Mawey 
of Tobago, just before Jones sailed from Boston, fully commis- 
sioned as an officer of the United States.* It must be confessed 



* " Boston, 4th May, 1777. 
" Dear Sir, 

" After an unprofitable suspense of twenty months, (having subsisted 
on fifty "pounds only during that time,) when my hopes of rehef were 
entirely cut off, and there remained no possibility of my receiving 
wherewithal to subsist upon from my effects in your island, or in Eng- 
land, I at last had recourse to strangers for that aid and comfort which 
was denied me by those friends whom I had intrusted Avith my all. The 
good offices which are rendered to persons in their extreme need, ought 
to make deep impressions on grateful minds ; in my case I feel the 
truth of that sentiment, and am bound by gratitude, as well as honour, 
to follow the fortunes of my late benefactors. 

" I have lately seen Mr. Sicaton, (late manager on the estates of Arch. 
Stuart, Esq.) who informed me that Mr. Ferguson had quitted Orange 
Valley, on being charged with the unjust application of the property of 
his employers. I have been, and am extremely concerned at this ac- 
count ; I wish to disbelieve it, although it seems too much of a piece 
with the unfair advantage which, to all appearance, he took of me, when 
he left me in exile for twenty months, a prey to melancholy and want, 
and withheldmy property, without writing a word in excuse for his con 
duct. Thus circumstanced, I have taken the liberty of sending you a 
letter of attorney by Captain Cleaveland, who undertakes to deliver it 
himself, as he goes for Tobago via Martinico. You have enclosed a 
copy of a list of debts acknowledged, which I received from Mr. Fer- 
guson when I saw you last at Orange Valley. You have also a list of 
debts contracted with me, together with Ferguson's receipt. And there 
remained a considerable property unsold, besides some best Madeira 
Avine which he had shipped for London. By the state of accounts 
which I sent to England on my arrival on this continent, there was a 
balance due to me from the ship Betsy of 909/. I5s. 3</. sterling ; and in 
ray account with Robert Young, Esq., 29th January, 1773, there ap- 
peared a balance in my favour of 281/. \s. 8d. sterling. Thes^sums 

3 



26 PAUL JONES. 

that the phrase " a very great misfortune, which brought him into 
North America," cannot at this time be very clearly explained. 
It is enough, that no inferences can be drawn from it prejudicial 
to his character. A very natural irritation after the treatment 
he had received, will account for the tenor of his expressions in 
the commencement of the letter from Boston ; which an English 
writer speaks of as being " affecting, from their mixture of reck- 
lessness and feeling."* 

exceed my drafts and just debts together; so that, if I am fairly dealt 
with, I ought to receive a considerable remittance from that quarter. 
You will please to observe, that there were nine pieces of coarse cam- 
lets shipped at Cork, over and above the quantity expressed in the bill 
of lading. It seems the shippers, finding their mistake, applied for the 
goods ; and, as I have been informed from Grenada, Mr. Ferguson laid 
hold of this opportunity to propagate a report that all the goods which 
I put into his hands were the property of that house in Cork. If this 
base suggestion hath gained belief, it accounts for all the neglect which 
I have experienced. But however my connexions are changed, my 
principles as an honest man of candour and integrity are the same ; 
therefore, should there not be a sufficiency of my property in England to 
answermy just debts, I declare that it is my first wish to make up such 
deficiency from my property in Tobago ; and were even that also' to fall 
short, I am ready and willing to make full and ample remittances from 
hence upon hearing from you the true state of my affairs. As I hope 
my dear mother is still alive, I must inform you that I wish my property 
in Tobago, or in England, after paying my just debts, to be appbed for 
her support. Your own feelings, my dear sir, make it unnecessary for 
me to use arguments to prevail with you on this tender point. Any 
remittances which you may be enabled to make, through the hands of 
my good friend Captain John Plaince, of Cork, will be faithfully put 
into her bands ; she hath several orphan grand-children to provide for. 
I have made no apology for giving you this trouble : My situation will, 
I trust, obtain your free pardon. 

" I am always, with perfect esteem, dear Sir, your veiy obliged, very 
obedient, and most humble sei'vant, 

" J. Paul Jones. 
" Stuaut Mawey, Esquire, Tobago." 

* Life of Jones, from Sherburne's Collections, page 20. London, Murray, 1825. 



PAUL JONES. 27 

His taking possession of his brother'sestate,encouraged for the 
time being his imaginary predilection for still life ; and he looked 
for sufficient remittances from those to whom he had confided the 
management of his affairs, to enable him to realize his vision of 
tranquil seclusion from the bustle of the world. In the latter 
hope, as has been mentioned, he was disappointed ; and from 
this reason, if from no other, retirement must have become in- 
sufferable to a young man of his temper, at the stirring epoch. 

When transatlantic Liberty arose, 

Not in the sunshine, and the smile of heaven. 

But wrapped in whirlwinds, and begirt with woes. 

In every point of view he was then fitted to act the part it fell 
to his lot to perform in the ensuing drama. Nature had made 
him a hero ; circumstances had prepared him to command men, 
and give an emphatic direction to the developement of their 
energies ; and these qualifications, united with the integrity of 
his heart and mind, rendered him worthy of co-working with 
the band of brave spirits who came forth with free and uncor- 
rupted souls, and in the power and majesty of truth, to vindicate 
the rights which they knew how to exercise, as well as to assert. 
Though his education as a seaman had been principally in the 
merchant service, he had sailed frequently in armed vessels ; 
and how sound his opinions were, acquired by observation or 
study, on the subject of naval discipline, will appear from his 
letters to the continental authorities ; while his great practical 
skill in all his manoeuvres and engagements is perhaps more 
admirable than his daring and desperate courage. One of his 
English biographers* observes : " It is singular that during the 
first years of the American navy, with the exception of Paul 
Jones, no man of any talent is to be found directing its opera- 
tions. Had it not been for the exertions of this individual, who 
was unsupported by fortune or connexion, it is very probable 



* Life of Paul Jones, from Sherburne's Collections. London, Murray, ISST.. 



28 PAUL JONES. 

that the American naval power would have gradually disappear- 
ed." These remarks were unquestionably dictated as much by 
the spirit of national vanity, claiming Jones as a native born 
British subject, as by a natural partiality of the writer for his 
hero. Jones had brave men for his compeers, as jealous of 
honour and of rank as himself, better taught from the advan- 
tages of birth, not unskilled in their profession, and who soon 
became instructed by ambition and experience. The Ameri- 
can naval force must have been as certainly created to a neces- 
sary extent, as the independence of the colonies, at no distant 
period, was inevitable. But it Avas among the extraordinary 
circumstances, in which the immediate designs of Providence 
seem developed to the religious mind, that a man of such a tem- 
per, and with such peculiar advantages, was sent to aid America 
on an element in which she was feeble, and her foe, in her fond 
conceit, omnipotent ; a man, who was able, with a force seem- 
ingly contemptible, to strike terror along the coast of the fast- 
anchored isle, notwithstanding her thousands of wooden walls, 
and to give to the American flag in foreign seas, a reputation 
which it has never lost. 

In the beginning of the year 1775, as will appear from one 
of his letters, his immediate pecuniary resources, from the 
causes he mentions, had almost entirely failed him, and for the 
two years following, he lived, as he expresses it, " upon fifty 
pounds." Mere necessity, however, could not have determined 
his election of an occupation, when he accepted a commission 
from the Continental Congress. A man who had begun life 
with nothing but " health and his good spirits" for his patri- 
mony, who, while a mere boy, had known how to obtain profit- 
able employments of much responsibility, and Avho was now in 
the incipient prime of mental and bodily vigoiu-, could have 
been at no loss in investing the capital of his abilities, his credit, 
and his " fifty pounds," in many speculations, which must, to 
ordinary minds at this epoch, have seemed far more promising 
than the cause of the colonists. But his heart was with them, 
and all his sympathies, and even prejudices, were in unison 



PAUL JONES. 29 

with theirs. Since the age of thirteen, when he first saw it, as 
he himself declares, America had been the country of his fond 
election. In it, he had laid the scene of his romance of re- 
tirement ; and he had now no other home save the ocean. His 
interest, so far as the strong appetite for renown, to be won by- 
danger, was concerned, was also best served by embarking in 
the revolutionary cause ; for what promotion could he have ob 
tained^ without money or friends, in the navy of Great Britain ? 
But so far as mere servile and sordid considerations were in 
question, the world of adventure offered to him a wide market, 
in which much safer and cheaper bargains might be made, 
by one who had acquired so much skill in the traffic. It was 
principle, and not necessity nor accident, which, in connexion 
with the love of glory, induced him to embark in the cause of 
liberty. 

This point has been dwelt on more at large, because the last 
English compiler of his memoirs, with very good intentions, 
speaks of it in an equivocal manner, in his analysis of Paul's 
motives. He also enters into an unnecessary apology for his 
consenting to bear arms against the mother country. The fol- 
lowing remarks, made by him, are, however, worthy of being 
quoted here : 

" Though in the heat of a struggle, which, from its very nature, 
was, like the feuds of the nearest relatives, singularly rancorous 
and bitter, Jones was branded as a traitor and a felon, and after 
his most brilliant action, his capture of the Serapis, formally 
denounced by the British ambassador at the Hague as a rebel 
and a pirate according to the laws of war,* it must be remem- 
bered that he bore this stigma in common with the best and 
greatest of his contemporaries — ^with Franklin and Washing- 
ton ; which last had actually borne arms in the service of the 
king of England. The memory of Paul Jones now needs little 



* Memorial of Sir Joseph Yorke to the States-General, dated the Hague, 8th Octo- 
ber, 1779. 



30 PAUL JONES. 

vindication for this important step. After the peace he enjoyed 
the esteem and private friendship of Enghshmen who might 
have forgiven the most imbittered poHtical hostihty, but never 
could have overlooked a taint on personal honour. Of this num- 
ber was the Earl of Wemyss, whc after the peace endeavoured 
to promote the views of Jones on various occasions. He him- 
self, however, discovers a lurking consciousness of having incur- 
red, if not of meriting, suspicion on this delicate ground. • This 
is chiefly displayed by his eloquent though rather frequent as- 
sertions of purity of motive, superiority to objects of sordid in- 
terest, and disinterested zeal for the cause, now of America, 
now of human nature, as was best adapted to the supposed in- 
clinations of his correspondents. In ordinary circumstances, 
much of this might have appeared uncalled for ; but the situa- 
tion of Jones was in many respects peculiar both as a native- 
born Briton, and as a man of obscure origin, jealous — and par- 
donably so — of his independence and dignity of character. 
Somewhat of the heroic vaunting which marks other parts of 
his correspondence appears incident to the enthusiastic tempe- 
rament of many great naval commanders. How would Nelson's 
tone of confident prediction, and boasts of prowess, have sound- 
ed from the lips of an inferior man.f* In any other than him- 
self, the customary language of Drake would have been reck- 
oned that of an insolent braggart." 

The English editor is right in referring to the obscurity of 
Paul's origin, and the consequent nature of his early education, 
as one cause of the quaintness and inartificial " heroic vaunt- 
ing" of style, which often strikes us in his letters. The example 
he produces of other great men, who occasionally exhibited the 
same bad taste, are illustrious and pertinent. But as to any 
squeamishness which Paul may have felt or expressed, on the 
score of his being born on the soil, as well as under the alle- 
giance of Great Britain, we find no evidence in his correspon- 
dence which is not directly against the suggestion. He fought 
for his adopted country, the land of his friendships and affec- 
tion ; and his fame should not be tarnished without cause, by 



PAUL JONES. 31 

supposing that any compunctious visitings disturbed him in his 
career, other than those natural to the best and bravest men 
who have served in the cause of human freedom. Writing to 
Baron Vander Capellan, some years after the conflict began, 
he says, in a spirit of bitterness, provoked by his being stigma- 
tized as a pirate, rebel, «fcc. in the British prints : 

" I was indeed born in Britain ; but I do not inherit the dege- 
nerate spirit of that fallen nation, which I at once lament and 
despise. It is far beneath me to reply to their hireling invec- 
tives. They are strangers to the inward approbation that 
greatly animates and rewards the man who draws his sword 
only in support of the dignity of freedom. America has been 
the country of my fond election from the age of thirteen, when 
I first saw it. I had the honour to hoist with my own hands the 
flag of freedom, the first time it was displayed on the Delaware ; 
and I have attended it ^vith veneration ever since, on the 
ocean." 

At the time when Paul settled, (or more properly, supposed 
he meant to settle,) in Virginia, it would seem that he as- 
sumed the additional surname of Jones. Previous to this date, 
his letters are signed John Paul. We are left to conjecture 
the reason of this arbitrary change. His relations were never 
able to assign one ; there is no allusion to the circumstance in 
the manuscripts which he left, and tradition is silent on the 
subject. It was, however, a caprice by no means singular in a 
sea-faring man. It is mentioned in the biographical sketch 
written for the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, by Dr. Duncan, of 
Scotland, that the custom of taking the father's Christian name 
as a patronymic, was not prevalent in the immediate vicinity of 
Paul's birthplace. But it was common in Wales, th^ Isle of 
Man, and other parts, with which he was as familiarly acquaint- 
ed. It does not seem to be, in the language of logicians, 
" drawing a long inference," to suppose, that in adopting a coun- 
try where he meant to establish his household gods, and be the 
father of his own line, he chose to assume a new name, which 
he had such warrant for doing, and which should be his own, 



32 PAUL JONES. 

and that of his descendants. His retaining that by which he 
had been always known, proves that he did not consider it to 
have been suUied. It is only because calumny and invention 
have been busy with the topic, that it seems proper to suggest 
a plausible explanation for this change. 

It is not within the province of this narrative to sketch the 
early history of the American navy, or its operations during the 
revolutionary war, except where Jones was connected with 
them. Of these he is his own historian. With the view of cut- 
ting off the supplies sent in store ships to Boston, then in pos- 
session of the British, and in a state of blockade, — of obtaining 
powder and the munitions of war, which were not to be had in the 
colonies, — and of retaliating for depredations committed by Bri- 
tish emissaries along the coast, the General Court of Massa- 
chusetts on the 13th November, 1775, passed an act authorizing 
letters of marque and reprisal to be issued against ships infest- 
ing the sea-coast of America, and elected courts to try and con- 
demn such as should be captured. General Washington, as 
Commander in Chief, gave commissions to a number of vessels, 
to intercept the supplies intended for Boston. Privateers 
swarmed in the Bay of Boston, and off the neighbouring sea- 
coast. Instances of gallant and ingenious enterprises were nu- 
merous, and the names of those by whom they were conducted 
will be entitled to a place in our national history. On the 13th 
of December, 1775, the Continental Congress adopted a report 
of the Committee appointed to devise ways and means for fit- 
ting out a naval armament ; in which it was recommended that 
thirteen frigates should be got ready for sea ; five to be of 
thirty-two guns, five of twenty-eight, and three of twenty-four. 
They also commissioned a small fleet collected in the Dela- 
ware to cruise against the enemy, and passed the following ' 
resolution : 

" In Congress, 22nd Dec. 1775. 
" Resolved, that the following naval officers be appointed : 



PAUL JONES. 33 

Ezek. Hopkins, Esq. Commander in Chief of the fleet. 
Dudley Sakonstall, Captain of the Alfred. 
Abraham Whipple, do. Columbus. 

Nicholas Biddle, do. Andrew Doria. 

John B. Hopkins, do. Cabot. 

" 1st Lieutenants, John Paul Jones, Rhodes Arnold, 
Stansbury, Hersted Hacker, Jonathan Pitcher. 

" 2d Lieutenants, Benjamin Seabury, Joseph Olney, Elisha 
Warner, Thomas Weaver, — M'Dougall. 

" 3d Lieutenants, John Fanning, Ezekiel Burroughs, Da- 
niel Vaughan. 

" Resolved, that the pay of the Commander in Chief of the 
fleet be one hundred and twenty-five dollars per month." 

To this small fleet was added the sloop Providence, the com- 
mand of which Jones declined for the reasons stated in his nar- 
rative, which we shall presently follow. The force consisted of 
the Alfred, Commodore Hopkins, 30 guns and 300 men ; Co- 
lumbus, Whipple, 28 guns and 300 men ; Andrew Doria, Bid- 
die, 16 guns and 200 men ; Sebastian Cabot, Hopkins, Jun. 14 
guns and 200 men ; and the Providence, Hazard, 12 guns and 
150 men. The flag of America was hoisted by Jones, as he 
records, being the first time it was displayed, on board of the Al- 
fred, of which he was first-lieutenant. He does not mention the 
date of this transaction, which it would be extremely interesting 
to ascertain ; nor has the present compiler been able to fix it. 
His commission to act as lieutenant bore date on the 7th De- 
cember. The squadron was originally destined to act against 
Lord Dunmore, who was committing acts of outrage and depre- 
dation along the coast of Virginia. The navigation of the 
Delaware was, however, interrupted by the ice, and the fleet 
did not leave Cape Henlopen until the 17th of February, 1776. 
The most succinct and clear account of this period of his ser- 
vice is given by Jones in the commencement of a Journal, drawn 
up at the request of the king of France, and read by that un- 
fortunate monarch when he was a prisoner. It is as follows 

4 



34 PAUL JONES. 

" When Congress thought fit to equip a naval force towards 
the conclusion of the year 1775, '■for the defence of American 
liberty, and far repelling every hostile invasion thereof it was a 
very difficult matter to find men fitly qualified for officers, and 
willing to embark in the ships and vessels that were then put 
into commission. The American navy at first was no more than 
the ships Alfred and Columbus, the brigantines Andrew Doria, 
and Cabot, and the sloop Providence.* A commander in chief of 
the fleet was appointed ; and the Captains Saltonstall, Whipple, 
Biddle, and Hopkins, were named for the ships and brigantines. 
A captain's commission for the Providence, [bought, or to be 
bought, about the time, from Captain Whipple,]! which Mr. Jo- 
seph Hewes of the Marine Committee oflfered to his friend Mr 
John Paul Jones, was not accepted, because Mr. Jones had 
never sailed in a sloop, and had then no idea of the declaration 
of independence that took place the next year. It was his early 
wish to do his best for the cause of America, which he considered 
as the cause of human nature. He could have no object of self- 
interest ; and having then no prospect that the American navy 
would soon become an established service, that rank was the 
most acceptable to him by which he could be the most useful in 
that moment of public calamity. There were three classes of 
lieutenants appointed, and Mr. Jones was appointed! the first of 
the first-lieutenants, which placed him next in command to the 
four captains already mentioned. This commission under the 
united colonies is dated the 7th day of December, 1775, as first- 
lieutenant of the Alfred. On board of that ship, before Phila- 
delphia, Mr. Jones hoisted the flag of America with his own 
hands, the first time it was ever displayed, as the commander in 
chief embarked on board the Alfred. All the commissions for 



* In the MSS. copy before me several coiTections occur in Jones' own hand writing 
Some are not material. In the passage above he has overlined " Ezek. Hopkins, Esq 
was appointed, «fec." 

t The words in brackets are erased in the copy above mentioned. 

I " Commissioned" as altered by Jones. 



PAUL JONES. 35 

the Alfred were dated before the commissions for the Cohimbus, 
&,c. All the time this little squadron was fitting and manning, 
Mr. Jones superintended the affairs of the Alfred ; and as Cap- 
tain Saltonstall did not appear at Philadclj^hia, the commander 
in chief told Mr. Jones he should command that ship. A day 
or two before the squadron sailed from Philadelphia, manned 
and fit for sea. Captain Saltonstall appeared, and took com- 
mand of the Alfred. The object of the first expedition was 
against Lord Dunmore in Virginia. But instead of proceeding 
immediately on that service, the squadron was hauled to the 
wharfs at Reedy Island, and lay there for six weeks frozen up. 
Here Mr. Jones and the other lieutenants stood the deck, watch 
and watch, night and day, to prevent desertion ; and they lost 
no man from the Alfred. On the 17th of February, 1776, the 
squadron sailed from the Bay of Delaware, having been joined 
the day before by a small sloop and a very small schooner from 
Baltimore. On the 1st of March the squadron anchored at 
Abaco, one of the Bahama Islands, and carried in there two 
sloops belonging to New Providence. Some persons on board 
the sloops, informed that a quantity of powder and warlike 
stores might be taken in the forts of New Providence. An ex- 
pedition was determined on against that island. It was resolv- 
ed to embark the marines on board the two sloops. They were 
to remain below deck nntil the sloops had anchored in the har- 
bour close to the forts, and they were then to land and take pos- 
session. There was not a single soldier in the island to oppose 
them ; therefore the plan would have succeeded, and not only 
the public stores might have been secured, but a considerable 
contribution might have been obtained as a ransom for the town 
and islan^ had not the whole squadron appeared off the harbour 
in the morning, instead of remaining out of sight till after the 
sloops had entered and the marines secured the forts. On the 
appearance of the squadron the signal of alarm was fired, so 
that it was impossible to think of crossing the bar. The com- 
mander in chief proposed to go round the west end of the island, 



36 PAUL JONES. 

and endeavour to march the marines up and get behind the 
town ; but this could never have been effected. The islanders 
would have had time to collect ; there was no fit anchorage for 
the squadron, nor road from that part of the island to the town. 
Mr. Jones finding by the Providence pilots that the squadron 
might anchor under a key three leagues to windward of the har- 
bour, gave this account to the commander in chief, Avho object- 
ing to the dependence on the pilots, Mr. Jones undertook to 
carry the Alfred safe in. He took the pilot with him to the 
fore-topmast-head, from whence they could clearly see every 
danger, and the squadron anchored safe. The marines, with 
two vessels to cover their landing, were immediately sent in by 
the east passage. The commander in chief promised to touch 
no private property. The inhabitants abandoned the forts, and 
the governor, finding he must surrender the island, embarked 
all the powder in two vessels, and sent them away in the night. 
This was foreseen, and might have been prevented, by sending 
the two brigantines to lie off the bar. The squadron entered 
the harbour of New Providence, and sailed from thence the 17th 
of March, having embarked the cannon, &c. that was found in 
the fort. In the night of the 9th of April, on the return of the 
squadron from the Providence expedition, the American arms 
by sea were first tried in an action with the Glasgow, a British 
frigate of 24 guns, off Block Island. Both the Alfred and 
Columbus mounted two batteries. The Alfred mounted 30, 
the Columbus 28 guns. The first battery was so near the 
water as to be fit for nothing except in a harbour or a very 
smooth sea. The sea was at the time perfectly smooth. Mr. 
Jones was stationed between decks to command the Alfred's 
first battery, which was well served whenever the gun» could be 
brought to bear on the enemy, as appears by the officijil letter 
of the commander in chief giving an account of that action. 
Mr. Jones therefore did his duty ; and as he had no direction 
whatever, either of the general disposition of the squadron, or 
the sails and helm of the Alfred, he can stand charged with no 



PAUL JONES. 37 

part of the disgrace of that night.* The squadron steered 
directly for New London, and entered that port two days after 
the action. Here General Washington lent the squadron 200 
men, as was thought, for some enterprise. The squadron, how- 
ever, stole quietly round to Rhode Island, and up the river to 
Providence. Here a court-martial was held for the trial of 
Captain Whipple, for not assisting in the action with the Glas- 
gow.t Another court-martial was held for the trial of Cap- 
tain Hazard, who had been appointed captain of the sloop 
Providence at Philadelphia, some time after Mr. Jones had re- 
fused that command. Captain Hazard was broke, and render- 
ed incapable of serving in the navy. The next day, the 10th 
of May, 1776, Mr. Jones was ordered by the commander in chief 
to take command ' as captain of the Providence.^ This proves 
that Mr. Jones did his duty on the Providence expedition. As 
the commander in chief had in his hands no blank-commission, 
this appointment was written and signed on the back of the 
commission that Mr. Jones had received at Philadelphia the 7th 
of December, 1775. Captain Jones had orders to receive on 
board the Providence the soldiers that had been borrowed from 
General Washington, and to carry them to New York, there 
enlist as many seamen as he could, and then return to New 
London, to take in from the hospital all the seamen that had 
been left there by the squadron, and were recovered, and carry 
them to Providence. Captain Jones soon performed these ser- 
vices ; and having hove down the sloop and partly fitted her for 
war at Providence, he received orders from the commander in 
chief, dated Rhode Island, June 10th, 1776, to come immedi- 
ately down to take a sloop then in sight, armed for war, belong- 
ing to the enemy's navy. Captain Jones obeyed orders with 
alacrity ; but the enemy had disappeared before he reached 

* In the margin, in Jones' hand writing : " It is for the commander in chief and the 
captains, to answer for the escape of the Glasgow/' 

t He excused himself because *' the firing of the ships engaged had killed the wind." 
Marginal note by Jones. 



38 PAUL JONES. 

Newport. On the 13th of June, 1776, Captain Jones received 
orders, dated that day at Newport, Rhode Island, from the com- 
mander in chief, to proceed to Newhuryport to take under con- 
voy some vessels bound for Philadelphia ; but first to convoy 
Lieutenant Hacker in the Fly, with a cargo of cannon, into the 
sound for New York, and to convoy some vessels back from 
Stonington to the entrance of Newport. In performing these 
last services, Captain Jones found great difficulty from the 
enemy's frigates, then cruising round Block Island, with which 
he had several rencontres ; in one of which he saved a brigantine 
that was a stranger, from Hispaniola, closely pursued by the 
Cerberus, and laden with public military stores. That brigan- 
tine was afterwards purchased by the Continent, and called the 
Hampden. Captain Jones received orders from the commander 
in chief to proceed for Boston instead of Newburyport. At 
Boston he was detained a considerable time by the backward- 
ness of the agent. He arrived with his convoy from Boston, 
safe in the Delaware, the 1st of August, 1776. This service 
was performed while the enemy were arriving daily at Sandy 
Hook from Halifax and England, [under the escort and pro- 
tection of Lord Howe,]* and Captain Jones saw several of their 
ships of war [which he had the address to avoid.] Captain 
Jones received a captain's commission [under the United States 
of America,] from the president of Congress the 8th of August.t 



* Interlined by Jones. 

t The Commission of Jones was made out, according to Mr Sherburne, on tlie same 
day on wliich the relative rank of the Captains was established by Congress. It was 
as follows : 

"IN CONGRESS. 

" TAe Delegates of the United States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rfwdc 
Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pcnnsyleania, Delaware, Maryland, Vir- 
ginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, To 

"JOHN PAUL JONES, ESQ. 

" We, reposing especial trust and coniidence in your patriotism, valour, conduct, 
and fidelity, DO, by these Presents, constitute and appoint you to be Captain in the 
navy of the United States of North America, fitted out for the defence of American 



PAtJL JONES. 99 

" It was proposed to Captain Jones by the Marine Committee 
of Congress to go to Connecticut, to command the brigantine 
Hampden ; but he choosing rather to remain in the sloop Pro- 
vidence, had orders to go out on a cruise against the enemy 
" for six weeks, [or] two or three months." He was not hmited 
to any particular station or service. He left the Delaware the 
21st of August, and arrived at Rhode Island on the 7th of Oc- 
tober, 1776. Captain Jones had only seventy men when h^ 
sailed from the Delaware, and the Providence mounted only 12 
four-pounders. Near the latitude of Bermudas he had a very 
narrow escape from the enemy's frigate the Solebay, after a 
chase [and an engagement] for six hours within cannon-shot, 
and considerable part of that time within pistol-shot. After- 
wards, near the Isle of Sable, Captain Jones had a running fight 
with the enemy's frigate the Milford ; and the firing between 
them lasted from ten in the morning till after sunset. The day 
after this rencontre, Captain Jones entered the harbour of 
Canso, where he recruited several men, took the tories' flags, 
destroyed all the fishery, burned the shipping, <fcc. and sailed 
again the next morning on an expedition against the Island of 
Madame. He made two descents at the principal ports of that 
island at the same time ; surprised, burned, and destroyed all 



Liberty, and for repelling everj' hostile invasion thereof. You are therefore carefully 
and diligently to discharge the duty of Captain, by doing and performing all manner of 
things thereunto belonging. And we do strictly charge and require all officers, marines, 
and seamen under your command to be obedient to your orders as Captain. And you 
are to observe and follow such orders and directions from time to time, as you shall re- 
ceive from this or a future Congress of the United States, or committee of Congress for 
that purpose appointed, or commander in chief for the time being of the navy of the 
United States, or any other your superior officer, according to the rules and discipline of 
War, the usage of the sea, and the instructions herewith given you, in pursuance of 
the trust reposed in you. This Commission to continue in force, until revoked by this 
or a future Congress. 

" Dated at Philadelphia, October 10th, 1776. 
" By order of the Congress, 

" John Hancock, President 
" Attest, Chart-es Thompson, Secretary.** 



40 PAUL JONES 

their shipping, and the fishery, though the place abounded with 
men, and they had arms. All this, from the Delaware to Rhode 
Island, was performed in six weeks and five days ; in which time 
Captain Jones made sixteen prizes, besides a great number of 
small vessels and fishery which he destroyed. The commander in 
chief of the navy was at Rhode Island, who, in consequence of the 
information given him by Captain Jones, adopted an expedition 
gainst the coal fleet of Cape Breton and the fishery, as well as 
to relieve a number of Americans from the coal mines, where 
they were compelled to labour by the enemy. The Alfred had 
remained idle ever since the Providence expedition, and was 
without men. It was proposed to employ that ship, the brigan- 
tine Hampden, and sloop Providence, on this expedition, under 
the command of Captain Jones, who had orders given him for 
that purpose on the 22d October, 1776, and then removed from 
the sloop Providence to command the ship Alfred. Finding he 
could not enlist a suflScient number of men for the three sail be- 
fore the season would be lost. Captain Jones determined to leave 
the sloop Providence behind; but Captain Hacker ran the 
Hampden upon a ledge of rocks on the 27th, and knocked off 
her keel, which obliged Captain Jones to remove him into the 
sloop Providence. The Alfred and Providence sailed together 
on this expedition the 2d of November, 1776, Captain Jones 
having only 140 men on his muster-roll for the Alfred, though 
that ship had 235 men when she left the Delaware. Captain 
Jones* anchored for the night at Tarpawling Cove, near Nan- 
tucket. Finding there a privateer schooner belonging to Rhode 
Island inward-bound, he sent his boat to search for deserters 
from the navy. His officers found four deserters carefully con- 
cealed on board. They were taken on board the Alfred, with 
a few other seamen, agreeably to orders from the commander in 



* [Passed between the enemies' frigates at Block Island and the shore, and anchor- 
ed for the night at Tarpawling Cove, near Nantucket, because daylight was necessary 
to pass through the shoals.] Corrected l>y Jones. 



PAUL JONES. 41 

chief. The concerned in the privateer brought an action against 
Captain Jones for 10,000/. damages, and the commander in 
chief had the pohteness not to support him. Captain Jones 
proceeded on his expedition. Off Louisbourg he took a brig 
with a rich cargo of dry goods, a snow with a cargo of fish, and 
a large ship called the Mellish, bound for Canada, armed for 
war, and laden with soldiers' clothing. The day after taking 
these prizes, (the 18th November,) the snow fell, and the wind 
blew fresh off Cape Breton. To prevent separation, and not 
from the violence of the weather, Captain Jones made the signal 
to lay to, which was obeyed; but as soon as the night began, 
Captain Hacker bore away. He made shift to arrive at Rhode 
Island a day or two before the place was taken by the enemy. 
Captain Jones ordered his prizes, the brigantine and the snow, 
to steer for American ports ; but determined not to lose sight of 
the Mellish, unless in case of necessity. Ca})tain Jones, after 
that little gale and some contrary winds, fell in with Canso, and 
sent his boats in to destroy a fine transport that lay aground in 
the entrance, laden with Irish provision. The party burnt also 
the oil-warehouse, and destroyed the materials for the whale 
and cod fishery. 

" Off Louisbourg, on the 24th November, he took three fine 
ships out of the coal-fleet, then bound for New York, under the 
convoy of the frigate Flora, that would have been in sight had 
the fog been dispersed. Two days after this, Captain Jones 
took a strong ietter-of-marque ship with a rich cargo, from 
Liverpool. He had now a hundred and fifty prisoners on 
board the Alfred, and a great part of his water and provision 
was consumed. He found by his prisoners that the harbour at 
the coal-mines was frozen up, and necessity obliged him to seek 
a hospitable port with the five prize-ships under his convoy. 
No separation took place till the 7th of December, on the edge 
of St. George's Bank, where Captain Jones again fell in with 
the Milford frigate. Captain Jones [drew the whole attention 
of the enemy towards the Alfred, and thereby] had the address 
[by running the greatest risk himself,] to save all his prizes ex- 

5 



42 PAUL JONES. 

cept one, (the lettei-of-marque from Liverpool,) and that one 
would not have been taken, had not the prize-master, who was 
three leagues to windward, foolishly run down under the Mil- 
ford's lee. The Mellish arrived safe with the clothing at Dart- 
mouth, in consequence of orders from Captain Jones, to pass 
within Nantucket shoals ; and Captain Jones, after meeting 
vidth much tempestuous weather arrived at Boston the 15th 
December, 1776, having only two days' water and provision 
left. The news of the supply of clothing reached General 
Washington's army just before he re-crossed the Delaware, and 
took the enemy's garrison at Trenton. By a letter from the 
commander in chief of the Navy, dated on board the Warren, 
at Providence, January the 14th, 1777, Captain Jones was su- 
perseded in the command of the Alfred, in favour of Captain 
Hinman, who said he brought a commission from Congress to 
supersede that of Captain Jones. On the 21st of January, 1777, 
this drew from Captain Jones a letter to the Marine Committee 
of Congress, stating his hopes that Congress would not so far 
overlook his early and faithful services as to supersede him by 
any man who was at first his junior officer, far less by any man 
who declined to serve in the Alfred, ifec. at the beginning. 
Captain Jones paid off the crews of the Alfred and Providence, 
for which he has never been reimbursed.* On the 18th Feb- 
ruary, Captain Jones received an appointment by order of Con- 
gress from the Hon. Robert Morris, Esq. Vice President of the 
Marine Committee, dated Philadelphia, February the 5th, 1777, 
to command private expeditions against Pensacola and other 
places, with the Alfred, Columbus, Cabot, Hampden, and sloop 
Providence. Many important schemes were pointed out ;t but 
Captain Jones was left at free liberty to adopt whatever he 
thought best. This appointment fell to nothing ; for the com- 



* "Was not reimbursed until the end of the war, and then without any interest." 
Corrected by Jones. 

t " Some of which Captain Jones had suggested to Mr. Morris ; and others that 
Mr. Morris had judiciously imagined himself" lb. 



PAUL JONES. 43 

mander in chief would not assist Captain Jones, but affected to 
disbelieve his appointment. Captain Jones made a journey by 
land from Boston to Philadelphia, in order to explain matters 
to Congress in person." 

There are two other documents written by Jones, recapitu- 
lating in a much more summary manner, the events of the 
cruises in which he was engaged during the time passed over in 
the foregoing extract. One of these is a letter or memorial, 
addressed to the President of Congress, written from the Texel, 
December 7th, 1779, which he elsewhere styles " a refreshing 
memorial ;" the other, a letter addressed to Mr. Morris, Minis- 
ter of the Marine, «fec. dated Philadelphia, October 13th, 1783.* 
The narrative drawn up for the king of France, is by far the 
most precise ; on which account it has been introduced. It will 
be necessary, however, to revert to some of its details, for the 
purposes of illustrating the circumstances it records, arid ex- 
plaining the subsequent passages in the history of Jones. 

The affair at New Providence is described in the journal Avith 
more accuracy than in any other account extant, which the 
compiler has seen. The governor had privately sent off from 
Nassau one hundred and fifty barrels of powder from Fort 
Nassau. A quantity of cannoils, brass mortars, shot, and shells, 
were taken away ; and the governor and two more gentlemen 
were carried off as prisoners. 

The partial engagement with the Glasgow is briefly alluded 
to. Jones felt that no glory was gained by it, and such was the, 
perhaps, unreasonable opinion of the American public, at the 
time. Commodore Hopkins alleged in his justification, that if 
he had pursued the escaping frigate, it might have brought him 
into an engagement with the whole of Wallace's fleet, then 
committing great depredation on the coast of Rhode Island.! 



* A letter is published in Mr. Sherburne's Collections, dated Philadelphia, Sept. 
22d, 1782, containing portions of the very long letter found in Jones' letter books, dated 
as in the text. 

t Clarke's Naval History of the United States, page 17. 



44 PAUL JONES. 

As Jones observes, in his marginal manuscript note, it was the 
business of the commander and captains to answer for the 
escape of the frigate ; yet a sensibihty, not unalUed, perhaps, to 
a premature and morbid apprehension that censure would light 
upon himself, caused him always to speak of this affair as if his 
personal conduct stood in need of exculpation. Such is the 
temperament of those who feel that they are " born to achieve 
greatness ;" the exhibition of which, until their vision is realized, 
is laid to the score of personal vanity. In the letter to the Pre- 
sident of Congress, last referred to, Jones says: " I continued 
in that ship, (the Alfred,) and had my share of the dishonour 
which attended the first essay of American arms by sea, with 
the Glasgow. Permit me however to observe, that as I was 
stationed to command the lower battery of the Alfred, I had no 
share in the government of the sails or helm ; and as the artil- 
lery under my direction was well served, whenever it could be 
brought to bear, I hope Congress will not find that the disgrace 
of that night was owing to me." Writing to Mr. Hewes, shortly 
after the transaction, he says : " My station confined me to the 
Alfred's lower gun-deck, where I commanded during the action ; 
yet, though the commander's letter, which has been published, 
says, ' all the officers in the Alfred behaved well,' still the public 
blames me among others for not taking the enemy. But a little 
consideration will place the matter in a true light ; for no offi- 
cer, under a superior, who does not stand charged, by that 
superior, for cowardice or misconduct, can be blamed on any 
occasion whatever." 

It is to be observed, that while thus disavowing any responsi- 
bility, as a subaltern, Jones by no means imputes blame to Com- 
modore Hopkins. He says, in his letter to Mr. Hewes ; " I 
have the pleasure of assuring you that the commander in chief 
is respected throughout the fleet ; and I verily believe that the 
officers and men, in general, would go any length to execute his 
orders." In the same letter he refers to the minutes of the 
action with the Glasgow, as entered by himself on the Alfred's 



PAUL JOJVES. 4$ 

log-book, which are copied, as follows, in Mr. Sherburne's Col- 
lections. 

"At 2 A. M. cleared ship for action. At half past two, the 
Cabot being between us and the enemy, began to engage, and 
soon after we did the same. At the third glass, the enemy bore 
away, and by crowding sail at length got a considerable way 
a-head, made signals for the rest of the English fleet at Rhode 
Island to come to her assistance, and steered directly for the 
harbour. The Commodore then thought it imprudent to risk 
our prizes, &c. by pursuing farther ; therefore, to prevent our 
being decoyed into their hands, at half past 6 made the signal to 
leave off chase and haul by the wind to join our prizes. The 
Cabot was disabled at the second broadside ; the captain being 
dangerously wounded, the master and several men killed. The 
enemy's whole fire was then directed at us, and an unlucky shot 
having carried away our wheel-block and ropes, the ship 
broached to, and gave the enemy an opportunity of raking us 
with several broadsides before we were again in condition to 
steer the ship and return the fire. In the action we received 
several shot under water, which made the ship very leaky ; we 
had besides, the mainmast shot through, and the upper works 
and the rigging very considerably damaged ; yet it is surprising 
that we only lost the 2d lieutenant of marines and four men, one 
of whom, (Martin Gillingwater,) was a midshipman, prisoner, 
who was in the cockpit, and had been taken in the bomb brig 
Bolton yesterday ; we had no more than three men dangerously 
and four slightly wounded."* 



* In the 87th number of the " Constitutional Gazette," published in 
New York, May 29th, 1776, is a statement of Captain David Hawley, 
who had arrived at Hartford, from Halifax, whence he had escaped, 
having been a prisoner on board the Glasgow during the skirmish in 
question. He says that, " on the — th of April, the Glasgow sailed 
from Newport ; in the morning of the 6th discovered sundry sail, and 
stood for them ; came up and hailed the brig, who answered that they 



46 PAUL JONES. 

The adventure with the Glasgow cannot, from the evidence 
now left, be considered as discreditable to the infant navy of 
America. The promotion of Jones, by the commander in chief 
of the navy, to be acting commandant of the Providence, proves, 
as he states himself, that the officer under whose command he 
had immediately served approved of his conduct. While con- 
veying military stores and troops between Newport and New 
York, he appears from his journal to have had several ren- 
contres with the Cerberus frigate and with others. Mr. Clarke, 



were from Plymouth ; then the brig hailed the Glasgow, and was told 
who they were. Upon signals being made and not answered, as it was 
stiU dark, the Glasgow received a heavy broadside from the brig, killed 
one man, and slightly wounded another. Then the Alfred came up, 
and closely engaged her for near three glasses, while the black brig at- 
tacked the Glasgow on her lee bow. It was observed by the motion of 
the Alfred, that she had received some unlucky shot. The sloop of 
twelve guns fired upon her stern without any great effect. The most 
of her shot went about six feet above the deck ; whereas, if they had 
been properly levelled, they must soon have cleared it of men. The 
Glasgow got at a distance, when she fired smartly ; and the engage- 
ment lasted about six glasses, when they both seemed willing to quit. 
The Glasgow was considerably damaged in her hull ; had ten shot 
through her mainmast, fifty-two through her mizen staysail, one hun- 
dred and ten through her mainsail, and eighty-eight through her fore- 
sail ; had her spars carried away, and her rigging cut to pieces. On 
the 6th they got into Rhode Island ; early in the morning of the 7th, 
were fired upon from the shore, cut her cables, and run up to Hope 
Island, where the hospital ship followed them. The wind shifting to 
the northward, they went out and joined Commodore Wallace, and 
after two days sailed for Halifax, where Captain Hawley tarried a fort- 
night, and on the 7th of April, made his escape with eight others, in a 
small boat, and came to Old York." 

The seventy-fifth number of the same newspaper, of AprU 17th, 
1776, contains the following account under date of Newport, April 8lli, 
which throws light upon the result of the affair vrith the Glasgow, and 
from its quaintness may not be uninteresting. 



PAUL JONES. 47 

in his Naval History speaks of two " engagements" with the 
former vessel. Jones does not appear to have deemed them 
worthy of commemoration in his narrative and letter books. 
In his " refreshing memorial" to the President of Congress, 
written from the Texel, he says, when speaking of this period 
of his service ; " The first service I performed in the Providence 
was to transport a number of soldiers from Providence to New 
York, which General Washington had lent us at New London 
to inspire us with courage to venture round to Rhode Island. 



" Last Friday the ministerial fleet went a little without the mouth of 
our harbour, and in the evening they all retiu-ned and anchored be- 
tween Gould island and Coddington's Point, except the Glasgow, of 
twenty-four guns, and a small tender, which kept out all night. As 
soon as it was Ught, the next morning, a party of the troops stationed 
on the island got down two of their 18 pounders upon the point, and 
played so well upon these worse than Algerine rovers, that they hulled 
the Rose two or three times, the Nautilus once or twice, and sent a shot 
through and through one of the armed tenders, upon which Captain 
Wallace, of the Rose, sent off a boat to cut away the buoy of his 
anchor, then slipped his cable, and made off as fast as possible ; and 
the rest of his fleet followed in the utmost hurry and confusion, having 
fired about fifteen cannon upon our people without the least effect, 
though they stood in considerable numbers, as open as they could well 
be, without the least breast-work or other shelter. 

" For several hours before, and during the above engagement, a vast 
number of cannon were heard from the S. E. and about sunrise eight 
or ten sail of ships, brigs, &c. were seen a little to the eastward of 
Block island, and indeed the flashes of the cannon were seen by some 
people about daybreak. These things caused much speculation, but 
in a few hours the mystery was somewhat cleared up, for away came 
the poor Glasgow, under all the sail she could set, yelping from the 
mouths of her cannon like a broken legged dog, as a signal of her being 
sadly wounded. And though she settled away, and handed most of 
her sails just before she came into the harbour, it was plainly perceived 
by the holes in those she had standing, and by the hanging of her 
yards, that she had been treated in a very rough manner. The other 



48 PAUL JONES. 

The Commodore employed me afterwards for some time to es- 
cort vessels from Rhode Island into the Sound, Sec. while the 
Cerberus and other vessels cruised round Block Island. At 
last I received orders to proceed to Boston, to take under con- 
voy some vessels laden with coal for Philadelphia. I perform- 
ed that service about the time when liord Howe arrived at 
Sandy Hook. It was proposed to send me from Philadelphia 
by land to take command of the Hampden in Connecticut, but 
I rather preferred to continue in the Providence, the Hampden 
being a far inferior vessel to the description that had been given 
of her to Congress." 

He was commissioned to sail from the Delaware on a cruise, 
" with unlimited orders," as he expresses it in his memorial ; 

-U^ ^— _ 

vessels seen off stood up the western sound, and by very authentic in- 
telligence received on Saturday evening, we are fully convinced they 
were twelve sail of the Continental navy, very deeply laden with can- 
non, mortars, cannon-shot, bombs, and other warlike stores from the 
West Indies, so that it is probable their precious cargoes were the sole 
cause of Mrs. Glasgow's making her escape. Her tender was taken, 
as also the bomb brig, and a schooner which had been out near a 
week in search of prey. 

" As soon as the Glasgow got in, the Rose, Captain Wallace, the 
Nautilus, Captain Collins, the Swan, Captain Ascough, with several 
tenders, and pirated prizes, stood out to sea, leaving the Glasgow, a 
large snow, and two small sloops at anchor, about three quarters of a 
mile from Brenton's point. The ensuing night, a party of troops car- 
ried one eighteen pounder, one nine, one six, and two four pounders, on 
said point, and early yesterday morning saluted the Glasgow with such 
warmth that she slipped her cable and pushed up the river without 
firing a gun, under all the sail she could make, and the others followed 
with great precipitation. By the terrible cracking on board the Glas- 
gow, the noise and confusion among her men, it is thought the cannon 
did good execution. The wind shifting to the northward about noon, 
those vessels ran down the back of Conanicut and stood out to sea, 
supposed to have gone in quest of Captain Wallace, to make a woful 
complaint of the incivility of the Yankees." 



PAUL JONES. 49 

and this was certainly the sort of trust which he best loved to 
execute. Some extracts from his letters to the marine com- 
mittee of Congress, relative to his adventures in this cruise of 
" six weeks and five days," so briefly mentioned in his journal, 
will probably be acceptable to the reader. 

" Providence, at sea, in N., Lat. 37'^ 40', 
5:. W. Longitude, 54°, Sept. Uh, 1776. 
" Gentlemen, 

" I had the honour of writing to you the 27th August, per the 
brigantine Brittannia, which I sent under the care of Lieutenant 
Wm. Grinnell. Since that, I have been to the southward, near 
the parallel of Bermuda, and brought to four sail of French, 
Spanish, and Danish ships, homeward bound, but without gain- 
ing any useful information. On the first current, I fell in with 
a fleet of five sail, one of them being very large, it was the ge- 
neral opinion here, that she was either an old Indiaman, out- 
ward bound, with stores, or a Jamaica three-decker, bound 
homewards. We found her to be an English frigate, mounting 
twenty guns upon one deck. She sailed fast, and pursued us by 
the wind, till, after four hours chase, the sea running very cross, 
she got within musket shot of our lee-quarter. As they had 
continued firing at us from the first, without showing colours, 
I now ordered ours to be hoisted, and began to fire at them. 
Upon this, they also hoisted American colors, and fired guns to 
leeward. But the bait would not take, for, having every thing 
prepared, I bore away before the wind, and set all our light sail 
at once ; so that, before her sails could be trimmed, and steer- 
ing sails set, I was almost out of reach of grape, and soon after 
out of reach of cannon shot. Our ' hair-breadth escape,' and 
the saucy manner of making it, must have mortified him not a 
little. Had he foreseen this motion, and been prepared to 
counteract it, he might have fired several broadsides of double- 
headed and grape shot, which would have done us very material 
damage. But he was a bad marksman ; and, though within 
pistol shot, did not touch the Providence with one of the many 

6 



50 PAUL JONES. 

shots he fired.* I met with no other adventure till last night, 
when I took the Bermuda built brigantine Sea Nymph, &c." 

He concludes this letter by observing that he did not expect 
much success in his cruise, as it was too late for the season ; a 
remark which he repeats in his next letter, dated three days 
after, when sending in the brigantine Favourite laden with 
sugar, from Antigua, for Liverpool, which he had captured on 
the evening of September 6th, being his third prize. 

The following characteristic letter, giving an account of the 
manner in which he ridiculed the Milford frigate, (as he ex- 
presses it in a subjoined precis of his cruise,) and took or de- 
stroyed the shipping in Canso Harbour, seems worthy of being 
inserted entire. 

^^ Providence off the Isle of Sable, ^dth Sept. 1776. 
"Gentlemen, * * * 

" From that time [of despatching the Favourite,] I cruised 
without seeing any vessel. I then spoke the Columbus' prize, 
the ship Royal Exchange, bound for Boston. By this time, my 
water and wood began to run short, which induced me to run to 
the northward, for some port of Nova Scotia or Cape Breton. 
I had, besides, a prospect of destroying the English shipping in 
these parts. The 16th, and 17th, I had a very heavy gale from 
the N. W. which obliged me to dismount all my guns, and stick 
every thing I could into the hold. The 19th, I made the Isle 
of Sable, and on the 20th, being between it and the main, I met 
with an English frigate, with a merchant ship under her con- 
voy. I had hove to, to give my people an opportunity of ta- 
king fish, when the frigate came in sight directly to windward, 
and was so good natured as to save me the trouble of chasing 
him, by bearing down, the instant he discovered us. When he 
came within cannon shot, I made sail to try his speed. Quar- 

* Thi8 is Jones' own account of what is called in the Naval Chronicle his " action of 
six hours" with the frigate Solebay, of 28 guns, from which he saved himself by a 
' desperate" manosuvre. " Skilful" seems to be a more appropriate term. 



PAUL JONES. 51 

tering and finding that I had the advantage, I shortened sail to 
give him a wild goose chase, and tempt him to throw away pow- 
der and shot. Accordingly, a curious mock engagement was 
maintained between us, for eight hours ; until night, with her 
sable* curtains, put an end to this famous exploit of English 
knight-errantry. 

" He excited my contempt so much, by his continued firing, 
at more than twice the proper distance, that when he rounded 
to, to give his broadside, I ordered my marine officer to return 
the salute vdth only a single musket. We saw him, next morn- 
ing, standing to the westward ; and it is not unlikely, that he 
hath told his friends at Halifax, what a trimming he gave to a 
' rebel privateer,' which he found infesting the coast. 

*' That night I was ofl* Canso harbour, and sent my boat in to 
gain information. On the morning of the 22d. I anchored in 
the harbour, and, before night, got off a sufficiency of wood and 
water. Here I recruited several men, and finding three Eng- 
lish schooners in the harbour, we that night burned one, sunk an- 
other, and, in the morning, carried off the third, which we had 
loaded with what fish was found in the other two. 

" At Canso, I received information of nine sail of ships, brigs, 
and schooners, in the harbour of Narrow Shock and Peter de 
Great,! at a small distance from each other, in the Island of 
Madame, on the east side of the bay of Canso. These I deter- 
mined to take or destroy ; and, to do it eflTectually, having 
brought a shallop for the purpose from Canso, I despatched her 
with twenty-five armed men to Narrow Shock, while my boat 
went, well manned and armed, to Peter de Great ; and I kept 
off and on with the sloop, to keep them in awe at both places. 
The expedition succeeded to my wish. So effectual was this 
surprise, and so general the panic, that numbers yielded to a 
handful, without opposition, and never was a bloodless victory 
more complete. As the shipping that were unloaded were all un- 



* He dates off the Isle of Sable. 

+ The orthography of the manuscript is followed. 



52 PAUL JONES. 

rigged, I had recourse to an expedient for despatch. I promised 
to leave the late proprietors vessels sufficient to carry them 
home to the Island of Jersey, on condition that they immediately 
fitted out and rigged such of the rest as might be required. This 
condition was readily complied with ; and they assisted my 
people with unremitting application, till the business was com- 
pleted. But the evening of the 25th brought with it a violent 
gale of wind, with rain, which obliged me to anchor in the en- 
trance of Narrow Shock ; where I rode it out, with both anchors 
and whole cables a-head. Two of our prizes, the ship Alex- 
ander and Sea Flower, had come out before the gale began. 
The ship anchored under a point, and rode it out ; but the 
schooner, after anchoring, drove, and ran ashore. She was a 
valuable prize ; but, as I could not get her off, I next day or- 
dered her to be set on fire. The schooner Ebenezer, taken at 
Canso, was driven on a reef of sunken rocks, and there totally 
lost ; the people having with difficulty saved themselves on a 
raft. Towards noon on the 26th, the gale began to abate. The 
ship Adventure being unrigged, and almost empty, I ordered 
her to be burnt. I put to sea in the afternoon with the brigan- 
tine Kingston Packet, and being joined by the Alexander, went 
off Peter de Great. I had sent an officer round in a shallop to 
order the vessels in that harbour to meet me in the offing, and 
he now joined me in the brigantine Success, and informed me 
that Mr. Gallagher, (the officer who had commanded the party 
in that harbour,) had left it at the beginning of the gale in the 
brigantine Defence, and taken with him my boat and all the 
people. I am unwilling to believe that this was done with an 
evil intention. I rather think he concluded the boat and people 
necessary to assist the vessel getting out, the navigation being 
difficult, and the wind at that time unfavourable ; and when the 
gale began, I know it was impossible for them to return. 

" Thus weakened, I could attempt nothing more. With one of 
our brigs and the sloop, I could have scoured the coast and se- 
cured the destruction of a large boat fleet that was loading near 
Louisbourg, with the savage only to protect them. 



PAUL JONES. 53 

" The fishery at Canso and Madame is effectually destroyed. 
Out of twelve sail which I took there, I only left two small 
schooners and one small brig, to convey a number of unfortu- 
nate men, not short of three hundred, across the Western 
Ocean. Had I gone further, I should have stood chargeable 
with inhumanity. 

" In my ticklish situation it would haVe been madness to lose 
a moment. I therefore hastened to the southward, to convey 
my prizes out of harm's way, the Damono brig having been 
within fifteen leagues of the scene of action during the whole 
time. 

" On the 27th, I saw two sail, which we took for Quebec 
transports. Unable to resist the temptation, having appointed 
a three days' rendezvous on the S. W. part of the Isle of Sable, 
I gave chase, but could not come up before they had got into 
Louisbourg, a place where I had reason to expect a far superior 
force ; and therefore returned, and this day I joined my prizes 
at the rendezvous. 

" If my poor endeavours should meet with your approbation, 
I shall be greatly rewarded in the pleasing reflection of having 
endeavoured to do my duty. I have had so much stormy wea- 
ther, and been obliged, on divers occasions, to carry so much 
sail, that the sloop is in no condition to continue long out of 
port. I am, besides, very weak handed ; and the men I have 
are scarce able to stand the deck, for want of clothing, the wea- 
ther here being very cold. These reasons induce me to bend 
my thoughts towards the continent. I do not expect to meet 
with much, if any success, on my return. But if fortune should 
insist on sending a transport or so in my way, weak as I am, I 
will endeavour to pilot him safe. It is but justice to add, that 
my officers and men behaved incomparably well on the oc- 
casion. 

" I have the honour to be, &.c. &c. 

" John P. Jones. 
" The Honourable the Marine Committee, 

Philadelphia." , .. . . 



54 



PAUL JONES. 



The following is the hst of prizes, taken, burnt, and sunk by 
Jones this cruise. 



Brigantine 


Britannia, 


Whaler, 


jj 


Sea Nymph, 


West Indies, 


>> 


Favourite, 


j» 


Ship 


Alexander, 


Newfoundland, 


Brigantine 


Success, 


5» 


>> 


Kingston Packet, 


Jamaica, 


5» 


Defiance, 


Jersey, 


Sloop 


Portland, 


Whaler, 


Ship 


Adventure, 


Jersey, 


Brigantine 


Friendship, 


jj 


Schooner 


John, 


London, 




Betsy, 


Jersey, 




Betsy, 


Halifax, 




Sea Flower, 


Canso, 




Ebenezer, 


jj 




Hope, 


Jersey 



manned and 
sent in. 



One of the objects of the expedition to Cape Breton, that of 
rescuing the hundred American prisoners confined in the coal 
pits, was not eflfected ; and other projects were abandoned, from 
the lateness of the season, and the difficulty of procuring men. 
Jones indeed met with more success than he had anticipated, as 
will be seen from the following extract of his letter to Mr. 
Morris, dated October 17th. 

" I have been successfully employed in refitting and gettmg 
the Providence in readiness, but am under the greatest appre- 
hension that the expedition will fall to nothing, as the Alfred is 
greatly short of men. I found her w ith only about thirty men, 
and we have with much ado enlisted thirty more ; but it seems 
the privateers entice them away as fast as they receive their 
month's pay. It is to the last degree distressing to contemplate 
the state and establishment of our navy. The common class of 
mankind are actuated by no nobler principle than that of self-in- 
terest ; this, and this alone determines all adventurers in priva- 
teers ; the owners, as well as those whom they employ. And 
while this is the case, unless the private emolument of individuals 
in our navy is made superior to that in privateers, it never can 



PAUL JONES. 55 

become respectable ; it never will become formidable. And 
without a respectable navy — alas ! America ! In the present 
critical situation of affairs, human wisdom can suggest no more 
than one infallible expedient : enlist the seamen during plea- 
sure, and give them all the prizes. What is the paltry emolu- 
ment of two thirds of prizes to the finances of this vast continent ?* 
If so poor a resource is essential to its independency, in sober 
sadness we are involved in a woful predicament, and our ruin is 
fast approaching. The situation of America is new in the an- 
nals of mankind ; her affairs cry haste, and speed must answer 
them. Trifles, therefore, ought to be wholly disregarded, as 
being in the old vulgar proverb " penny wise, and pound fool- 
ish." If our enemies with the best established and most formi- 
dable navy in the universe, have found it expedient to assign all 
prizes to the captors, how much more is such policy essential to 
our infant fleet? But I need use no arguments to convince you 
of the necessity of making the emoluments of our navy equal, if 
not superior, to theirs. We have had proof that a navy may be 
officered almost on any terms, but we are not so sure that these 
officers are equal to their commissions ; nor will the Congress 
ever obtain such certainty, until they, in their wisdom, see pro- 
per to appoint a board of admiralty, competent to determine im- 
partially the respective merits and abilities of their officers, and 
to superintend, regulate, and point out, all the motions and op- 
erations of the navy." 

In the same letter he says, " Governor Hopkins tells me, that 
he apprehends I am appointed to the Andrew Doria ; she is a 
good cruiser, and would, in my judgment, answer much better, 
were she mounted with 12 six-pounders, than as she is at pre- 
sent, with 14 fours. An expedition of importance may be eff'ect- 
ed this winter, on the coast of Africa, with part of the original 



• By a resolution of Congress, of November 25th, 1775, two thirds of the value of 
all captures, made by public ships of war, were reserved to the use of the United 
Colonies. 



56 PAUL JONES. 

fleet. Either the Alfred or Columbus, with the Andrew Doria 
and Providence, would, I am persuaded, carry all before them; 
and give a blow to the English African trade which would not 
soon be recovered, by not leaving them a mast standing on that 
coast. This expedition would be attended with no great ex- 
pense ; besides, the ship and vessels mentioned are unfit for ser- 
vice on a winter coast, which is not the case with the new 
frigates. The small squadron for this service ought to sail 
early, that the prizes may reach our ports in March or April. 
If I do not succeed in manning the Alfred, so as to proceed to 
the eastward, in the course of this week, the season will be lost ; 
the coal fleet will be gone to Halifax, the fishermen to Europe." 

This cruise, however, of Jones, from Rhode Island, was at- 
tended with many useful and some brilliant results. The cap- 
ture, in particular, of the clothing in the Mellish, while it fur- 
nished a seasonable supply to the American army, was a serious 
privation to that of the enemy- In his letter to the Marine 
Committee dated November 12th, Jones says : " This, prize is, 
I believe, the most valuable that has been taken by the Ameri- 
can arms. She made some defence, but it was trifling. The 
loss will distress the enemy more than can be easily imagined, 
as the clothing on board of her is the last intended to be sent out 
for Canada this season, and all that has preceded it is already 
taken. The situation of Burgoyne's army must soon become 
insupportable. I shall not lose sight of a prize of such impor- 
tance, but will sink her, rather than suffer her to fall again into 
their hands." 

His account of his second meeting with the Milford, given in 
the memorial from the Texel, is as follows : " On the edge of 
St. George's Bank, I again met with the Milford. The wind 
was at N. W. the enemy to windward, and we on our starboard 
tack. He could not come up before night ; and, in the mean 
time, I placed the Alfred and the letter of marque from Liver- 
pool, between the other prizes and the enemy. I ordered them 
to crowd sail on the same tack, all night, without paying regard 
to my light or signals. At midnight, the Alfred and the 



PAPL JONES. 57 

letter of marque tacked, and I afterwards carried a top light till 
morning. 

" This led the Milford entirely out of the way of the prizes, 
and particularly the clothing ship Mellish ; for they were all out 
of sight in the morning. I had now to get out of the difficulty 
in the best way I could. In the morning we again tacked ; and 
as the Milford did not make much appearance, I was unwilling 
to quit her, without a certainty of her superior force. She was 
out of shot, on the lee quarter ; and as I could only see her bow, 
I ordered the letter of marque. Lieutenant Saunders, that held 
a much better wind than the Alfred, to drop slowly astern, until 
he could discover by a view of the enemy's side, whether she was 
of superior or inferior force, and to make a signal accordingly. 
On seeing Mr. Saunders drop astern, the Milford wore suddenly, 
and crowded sail towards the N. E. This raised in me such 
doubts as determined me to wear also, and give chase. Mr. 
Saunders steered by the wind, while the Milford went lasking, 
and the Alfred followed her with a pressed sail, so that Mr. 
Saunders was soon almost hull down to windward. At last 
the Milford tacked again ; but I did not tack the Alfred, till I 
had the enemy's side fairly open, and could plainly see her force. 
I then tacked, about ten o'clock. The Alfred being too light to 
be steered by the wind, I bore away two points, while the Milford 
steered close by the wind, to gain the Alfred's wake ; and by 
that means he dropped astern, notwithstanding his superior 
sailing. The weather too, which became exceedingly squally, 
enabled me to outdo the Milford, by carrying more sail. I 
began to be under no apprehension from the enemy's superi- 
ority, for there was every appearance of a severe gale, which 
really took place in the night. To my great surprise, however, 
Mr. Saunders, towards 4 o'clock, bore down on the Milford, 
made the signal of her inferior force, ran under her lee, and was 
taken !" 

The delay experienced by Captain Jones at Boston, where he 
anived with his prize, in getting rid of his prisoners and being 
delivered, as he phrases it, from the "honourable office of a jail 

7 



58 PAUL JONES. 

keeper," — the inaction in which he was obliged to remain for 
want of a command, — the neglect of Commodore Hopkins, from 
unwillingness or inability, to render him any assistance, — and 
his being superseded in the command of the Alfred by the or- 
ders of that officer, were circumstances of an irritating character, 
which drew fi*om him many letters of indignant remonstrance. 
Writing to the Commodore on the 28th February, he says : " It 
is only necessary for me to inform you, as I have already done, 
that I am appointed by a letter from the Honourable the Vice 
President of the Marine Board, dated the 5th current, to take 
command of the Alfred, Columbus, Cabot, Hampden, and sloop 
Providence, and to call on you for every possible assistance 
within your power, to enable me to proceed forthwith on a pri- 
vate enterprise, of the greatest importance to America. The 
letter has the sanction and full authority of Congress. It is 
written in their name. Therefore, Sir, I repeat my application, 
and demand your hearty and immediate concurrence with me 
in the outfit. It is in vain for you to affect to disbelieve my 
appointment. 

" I should have appeared personally at Providence, had you 
justified my conduct in obeying your express orders, instead of 
leaving me, as you have done, in the lurch.* I could then have 
convinced you of its being your indispensable duty to give me 
every possible assistance. When I placed a confidence in you, 
I did not think you capable of prevarication. I then, v/Xienymi 
needed friends, gave you the most convincing proof of my sin- 
cerity. This you must remember. I have asked Captain Sal- 
tonstall, how he could in the beginning suspect me, as you have 
told me, of being unfriendly to America. He seemed astonished 
at the question ; and told me it was yourself who promoted it. 
However, waving every thing of a private nature, the best way 



* This refers to the action commenced against Jones for damages, by the men taken 
from the Rhode Island privateer. Commodore Hopkins l6ft him to defend the suit 
himself, saying that his orders had not been given in writing. See Appendix, No. I. 



PAUL JONES. 59 

is to co-operate cheerfully together, that the public service may 
be forwarded, and that scorn may yej forbear, to point her fin- 
ger at a fleet under your command. I am earnest in desiring 
to do every thing with good nature. Tiierefore to remove your 
doubts, if you have any, I send this by express, to inform you 
that I will meet you at Pawtucket, or at any other place, on as 
early a day as you please to appoint, and will there produce 
credentials to your satisfaction. In the mean time, it is your 
duty to prevent the departure of the Cabot, or any other vessel 
of- the squadron. I am astonished to hear that you have ordered 
the Hampden out, without desiring an explanation, after yqu 
received my last letters. My appointment was unsolicited and 
unexpected, and it must be owing to the hurry of business that 
you have received no similar orders. I am, honoured Sir, your 
very obliged, most humble servant, 

" J. P Jones. 

" P. S. I have sent by the bearer the coat which you desired, 
likewise one for Mr. Brown. If I can render you any service 
here, in procuring other articles, acquaint me with the particu- 
lars, and my best endeavours shall not be wanting." 

The mixture of conciliatory overtures with the peremptory 
language of this epistle, shows that, personal pique was temper- 
ed with a predominating desire to serve the cause of the country 
at all sacrifices. It may be remarked, in passing, that Commo- 
dore Hopkins had been ordered to be censured by the sentence 
of a Court Martial ; and that when the rank and station of the 
commanders of the navy was determined by Congress, his name 
was omitted. 

In relation to the manner in which Jones was superseded, as 
he conceived himself to have been, byjunior ofiicers, he has given 
a full account in his letter addressed to Mr. Morris from Phila- 
delphia in 1783, the whole of which document we have thought 
it necessary to publish in the appendix to this part.* It was an 



See Appendix to Part First, No II. 



60 PAUL JONES. 

arrangement of which he never ceased to complain, and as the 
facts stated by him are uncontradicted, it seems that he had good 
reasons for so doing. Three grades of heutenants were estab- 
lished by the act of Congress of December 22d, 1775. Jones 
was at the head of the first. At this time it is true that Con- 
gress had not granted general letters of reprisal, nor had the 
allegiance of the colonies to the British crown been renounced. 
After the declaration of Independence, the organization of the 
navy could only properly take place, and the rank of its officers 
be settled, as Congress in its wisdom should determine. Still a 
regard was due to meritorious services, and to former prece- 
dence, where the imperfect right was supported by them. The 
appointment of Jones to command the Providence as Captain, 
by the commander in chief of the fleet, Commodore Hopkins, 
though it cannot be considered as establishing his rank, was en- 
titled to respect. On the 8th of August, 1776, he received an 
appointment as Captain, under the United States, from President 
Hancock. Congress had passed a resolution on the 17th April 
preceding, that " the nomination or appointment of captains or 
commanders should not establish rank, which should be settled 
before commissions were granted ;" and it was not until the 
10th of October following, that by another resolution they set- 
tled the delicate and embarrassing question.* But Jones con- 



* Rank of Captains in the Navy, established by Congress, Oct. lOth^ 

1776, viz. 

Commanders. Vessels. Guns. 

No. 1 James Nicholson - - - - Virginia, - - 28 

2 John Manly Hancock, - - 32 

3 Hector M'Neil Boston, - - 24 

4 Dudley Saltonstall - - - Trumbull, - 28 

5 Nicholas Biddle - - - - Randolph, - 32 

6 Thomas Thompson - - - Raleigh, - - 32 

7 John Barry ----- Effingham, - 28 

8 Thomas Read ----- Washington, - 32 

9 Thomas Grinnell - - - - Congress, - - 28 



PAUL JONES. 



61 



ceived, as it was natural he should, that the date of his appoint- 
ment ought not to have been wholly overlooked, and fairly en- 
titled him to priority over those who were commissioned as Cap- 
tains, for the first time, on the 10th October. In what terms that 
appointment was couched cannot be ascertained, as it appears 
it was mislaid by President Hancock, who had requested Jones 
to leave it with him for a day or two. In the eloquent argu- 
ment made for himself by the latter, in the remonstrance in 
the appendix to which we refer, he evidently confounds occa- 
sionally the terms, appointment and commission. While, there- 
fore the government must be exempted from the censure of 
having violated any actual rights which Captain Jones had, it is a 
matter of regret, that in executing the difficult task of assign- 
ing rank, his fair claims should not have been admitted. It em- 
bittered many moments of his existence, when he was strug- 
gling with other difficulties, which neither courage nor ambition 
could overcome, and felt peculiarly '* how near to the heart," 
as he expresses it, " of every military officer, is rank, which opens 
the door to glory." 



10 Charles Alexander - - - Delaware, - - 

11 Lambert Wickes - - - - Reprisal, - - 

12 Abraham "Whipple - - - Providence, 

13 John B. Hopkins - - - Warren, - - 

14 .John Hodge ----- Montgomery, - 

15 William HaUock - - - - Lexington, - - 

16 Hoysted Hacker - - - - Hampden, - - 

17 Isaiah Robinson - - - - Andrew Doria, 

18 John Paul Jones - - - - Providence, - 

19 James Josiah ----- - - 

20 Ehsha Hinman - - - - Alfred, - - 

21 Joseph Olney ----- Cabot, - - 

22 James Robinson - - - - Sachem, - - 

23 John Young ----- Independence, 

24 Elisha Warner - - - - Fly, - - - 
Lieut John Baldwin - - Wasp, - - - 
Lieut. Thomas Alberton - Musquito, - - 



24 
16 

28 
32 
24 
16 

14 

- 12 

- 28 

- 16 

- 10 

- 10 

- 8 

- 4 



62 PAUL JOJVES, 

On this subject he thus wrote to the Marine Board at Phila- 
delphia, " I am now to inform you, that by a letter from Commo- 
dore Hopkins, dated on board the Warren, January 14th, 1777, 
which came to my hands a day or two ago, I am superseded in 
the command of the Alfred, in favour of Captain Hinman, and 
ordered back to the sloop in Providence River. Whether this 
order doth or doth not supersede also your orders to me of the 
10th ult. you can best determine ; however, as I undertook the 
late expedition at his (Commodore Hopkins') request, from a 
principle of humanity, I mean not now to make a difficulty about 
trifles, especially when the good of the service is to be consulted. 
As I am unconscious of any neglect of duty, or misconduct, 
since my appointment at the first as eldest lieutenant of the 
navy, I cannot suppose that you can have intended to set me 
aside, in favour of any man who did not at that time bear a cap- 
tain's commission, unless indeed that man, by exerting his su- 
perior abilities, hath rendered or can render more important 
services to America. Those who stepped forth at the first, in 
ships altogether unfit for war, were generally considered as fran- 
tic rather than as wise men ; for it must be remembered, that 
almost every thing then made against them. And although the 
success in the affair with the Glasgow was not equal to what it 
might have been, yet the blame ought not to be general. The 
principal or principals in command alone are culpable ; and the 
other officers, while they stand unimpeached, have their full 
merit. There were, it is true, divers persons, from misrepre- 
sentation, put into commission at the beginning, Avithout fit 
qualification, and perhaps the number may have been increased 
by later appointments ; but it follows not that the gentleman or 
man of merit should be neglected or overlooked on their ac- 
count. None other than a gentleman, as well as a seaman both 
in theory and practice, is qualified to support the character of a 
commission officer in the navy ; nor is any man fit to command 
a ship of war who is not also capable of communicating his 
ideas on paper, in language that becomes his rank. If this be 



PAUL JONES. 63 

admitted, the foregoing operations will be sufficiently clear ; but 
if further proof is required, it can easily be produced. 

" When I entered into the service, I was not actuated by 
motives of self-interest. I stepped forth as a free citizen of the 
world, in defence of the violated rights of mankind, and not in 
search of riches, whereof, I thank God, I inherit a sufficiency ;* 
but I should prove my degeneracy were I not in the highest de- 
gree tenacious of my rank and seniority. As a gentleman, I 
can yield this point up only to persons of superior abilities and 
superior merit ; and under such persons it would be my highest 
ambition to learn. As this is the first time of my having ex- 
pressed the least anxiety on my own account, I must entreat your 
patience until I account to you for the reason which hath given 
me this freedom of sentiment. It seems that Captain Hinman's 
commission is No. 1, and that, in consequence, he who was at 
first my junior officer by eight, hath expressed himself as my 
senior officer in a manner which doth himself no honour, and 
which doth me signal injury. There are also in the navy, per- 
sons who have not shown me fair play after the service I have 
rendered them. I have even been blamed for the civilities which 
I have shown to my prisoners ; at the request of one of whom 
I herein enclose an appeal, which I must beg leave to lay before 
Congress. Could you see the appellant's accomplished lady, 
and the innocents their children, arguments in their behalf would 
be unnecessary. As the base-minded only are capable of incon- 
sistencies, you will not blame my free soul, which can never 
stoop where I cannot also esteem. Could I, which I never can, 
bear to be superseded, I should indeed deserve your contempt 
and total neglect. I am therefore to entreat you to employ me 
in the most enterprising and active service, — accountable to 
your Honourable Board only, for my conduct, and connected as 
much as possible with gentlemen and men of good sense." 

* His jealous uneasiness lest he should be considered a gladiator, or in any shape 
a mercenary soldier, led him to use strong terms, not always well weighed in the 
moment of indignation. The riches he inherited were the gifts of nature. 

See Appendix No. IH. 



- '» 
64 PAUL JONES. 

" My conduct hitherto," he says, in the memorial addressed 
to Congress from the Texel, " was so much approved of by 
Congress, that on the 5th February, 1777, I was appointed, 
with unhmited orders, to command a httle squadron of the Al- 
fred, Columbus, Cabot, Hampden, and sloop Providence. Va- 
rious important services were pointed out, but I was left at free 
liberty to make my election. That service, however, did not 
take place ; for the Commodore, who had three of the squadron 
blocked in at Providence, affected to disbelieve my appointment, 
and would not at last give me the necessary assistance. Find- 
ing that he trifled with my applications as well as the orders of 
Congress, I undertook a journey from Boston to Philadelphia, 
in order to explain matters to Congress in person. I took 
this step also because Captain Hinman had succeeded me 
in the command of the Alfred, and, of course, the service could 
not suffer through my absence. I arrived at Philadelphia in 
the beginning of April. But what was my surprise to find that, 
by a new line of navy rank, which had taken place on the 10th 
day of October, 1776, all the officers that had stepped forth at 
the beginning were superseded ! I was myself superseded by 
thirteen men, not one of whom did (and perhaps some of them 
durst not) take the sea against the British flag at the first ; for 
several of them who were then applied to refused to venture,— 
and none of them have since been very happy in proving their 
superior abilities. Among these thirteen there are individuals 
v/ho can neither pretend to parts nor education, and with whom, 
as a private gentleman, I would disdain to associate. 

" I leave your Excellency and the Congress to judge how 
this must affect a man of honour and sensibility. 

" I was told by President Hancock, that what gave me so 
much pain had been the effect only of a multiplicity of business. 
He acknowledged the injustice of that regulation, said it should 
make but a nominal, and temporary difference, and that in the 
mean time I might assure myself, that no navy officer stood 
higher in the opinion of Congress than myself." 



PAUL JONES. 65 

In connexion with the foregoing letters, it is not out of place 
to introduce the following, to Mr. Morris. 

" As the regulations of the navy are of the utmost conse- 
quence, you will not think it presumption, if, with the utmost 
diffidence, I venture to communicate to you such hints as, in 
my judgment, will promote its honour and good government. 
I could heartily wish that every commission officer was to be 
previously examined ; for, to my certain knowledge, there are 
persons who have already crept into commission without abili- 
ties or fit qualification : I am myself far from desiring to be ex- 
cused. From experience in ours, as well as from my former 
intimacy with many officers of note in the British navy, I am 
convinced that the parity of rank between sea and land or ma- 
rine officers, is of more consequence to the harmony of the ser- 
vice than has generally been imagined. In the British estab- 
lishment, an admiral ranks with a general, a vice admiral with 
a lieutenant general, a rear admiral with a major general, a com- 
modore with a brigadier general, a captain with a colonel, a 
master and commander with a lieutenant colonel, a lieutenant 
commanding with a major, and a lieutenant in the navy ranks 
with a captain of horse, foot, or marines. I propose not our ene- 
mies as an example for our general imitation, yet, as their navy 
is the best regulated of any in the world, we must in some degree 
imitate them, and aim at such farther improvement as may one 
day make ours vie with, and exceed theirs. Were this regula- 
tion to take place in our navy, it would prevent numberless dis- 
putes and duellings, which otherwise will be unavoidable."* 



* Congress on the 15th November, 1776, adopted the following' 

resolution. 

That the rank of the naval officers be to the rank of officers in the 

land service, as follows : 

Admiral, ---- as a ----- General, 
Vice Admiral, -- •' ----- Lieut. General, 
Rear Admiral, -- " ----- Major General, 

8 



66 PAUL JONES. 

Jones repaired from Boston to Philadelphia*, in the beginning 
of April, 1777. His suggestions as to the proper government 
of the navy, and his projects of annoying the enemy, were lis- 
tened to with respectful attention. Whatever cause he con- 
ceived himself to have for complaining of the nominal rank as- 
signed to him, the command which it was first resolved to give 
him, and that with which he was in the issue entrusted, were 
calculated to satisfy his sense of what was due to his deserts, 
and he expresses himself as being highly gratified. In his 
Journal, written for the king of France, he says : " The Presi- 
dent assured Captain Jones that this matter of rank should be 
arranged at a future day, to his satisfaction, and in the mean 
time he should have a separate command, &c. Three ships 
were ordered to be fitted out in the eastern states, and Captain 
Jones was, by a resolve of Congress, directed to take his choice 
of them, ' until better provision could he made for him.''* Cap- 
tain Jones spared no pains to execute this last scheme ; but be- 
fore it was well begun, he received an appointment from the 
marine and secret committee, to proceed to France in the French 



Commodore, --"- as a----- Brig. General, 
Captain of a ship of 40 guns and upwards, Colonel, 

Do. - - - 20 to 40 guns, - as a Lieut. Colonel, 
Do, of a ship of 10 to 20 gims, - " Major, 

Lieutenant in the navy, . - - - " Captain. 

* " In Congress, March 15, 1777. 

" Resolved, That Daniel Waters, and Samuel Tucker, be appointed 
Captains in the Navy of the United States, and that they have the com- 
mand of two of the three ships ordered to be purchased. And that the 
command of the other ship be given to Captain John Paul Jones, until 
better provision can be made for him." 

The resolutions of the Marine Committee, authorizing Jones to make 
his election of the three ships, as soon as the purchase should be made, 
and to fit out tlie one he might select for sea, are to the effect stated in 
his journal. 



PAUL JONES. 67 

ship Amphitrite from New Hampshire, with a letter to the Ame- 
rican Commissioners at Paris, containing orders to invest him 
immediately with the command of ' a fine ship,' (the Indian, 
built for America at Amsterdam,) ' as a reward for his zeal, 
and the important services he had performed, in vessels of little 
force.' His departure in the Amphitrite did not succeed, be- 
cause the terms offered the French commander were not accept- 
ed." Speaking of this resolution of Congress, he says else- 
where, " This was generous indeed ; and I shall feel the whole 
force of the obligation, to the last moment of my life." 

In the memorandums and documents, in the compiler's pos- 
session, there is no further explanation of the causes which 
prevented Jones from embarking in the Amphitrite. By a let- 
ter from him, to an agent, directing the enlistment of seamen, 
dated May 23d, it appears that he lost no time in acting upon 
the appointment by the Marine Committee. The following are 
the official letters and instructions, with which he was fur- 
nished. 

" Philadelphia, 9tk May, 1777. 
" Honourable Gentlemen, 

" This letter is intended to be delivered to you by John Paul 
Jones, Esq. an active and brave commander in our navy, who 
has already performed signal services in vessels of little force ; 
and in reward for his zeal we have directed him to go on board 
the Amphitrite, a French ship of twenty guns, that brought in 
a valuable cargo of stores from Mons. Hostalez and Co. and 
with her to repair to France. He takes with him his commis- 
sion, some officers and men, so that we hope he will, under that 
sanction, make some good prizes with the Amphitrite ; but our 
design of sending him is, (with the approbation of Congress,) 
that you may purchase one of those fine frigates that Mr. Deane 
writes us you can get, and invest him with the command there- 
of as soon as possible. We hope you may not delay this business 
one moment, but purchase, in such port or place in Europe as it 
can be done with most convenience and despatch, a fine fast- 



68 PAUL JONES. 

sailing frigate or larger ship. Direct Captain Jones where he 
must repair to, and he will take with him his officers and men 
towards manning her. You will assign him some good house or 
agent to supply him with every thing necessary to get the ship 
speedily and well equipped and manned — somebody that will 
bestir themselves vigorously in the business, and never quit it 
until it is accomplished. 

" If you have any plan or service to be performed in Europe 
by such a ship, that you think will be more for the interest and 
honour of the States than sending her out directly. Captain 
Jones is instructed to obey your orders ; and, to save repetition, 
let him lay before you the instructions we have given him, and 
furnish you with a copy thereof. You can then judge what 
will be necessary for you to direct him in, and whatever you do 
will be approved, as it will undoubtedly tend to promote the 
]mblic service of this country. 

" You see by this step how much dependence Congress place 
in your advices ; and you must make it a point not to disap- 
point Captain Jones' wishes and expectations on this occasion. 

" We are, &c. 
(Signed) " Robert Morris. 

" Richard Henry Lee. 
" Wm.. Whipple. 
" Phil. Livingston. 
•• The Honourable Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, 

and Arthur Lee, Esquires, Commissioners," &c. 

In Marine Committee. 

« Philadelphia, May 9ih, 1777. 
" John Paul Jones, Esq. 

" Sir — Congress have thought proper to authorize the Se- 
cret Committee to employ you on a voyage in the Amphitrite, 
from Portsmouth to Carolina and France, where it is expected 
you will be provided with a fine frigate ; and as your present 
commission is for the command of a particular ship, we now 
send you a new one, whereby you are appointed a captain in 



PAUL JONES. 69 

our navy, and of course may command any ship in the service 
to which you are particularly ordered. You are to obey the 
orders of the Secret Committee, and we are, Sir, &c. 

(Signed) " John Hancock. 

" Rob. Morris. 

" Wm. Whipple." 

In Marine Committee. 

" Philadelphia, September 6th, 1777. 
" Sir, 

" As soon as these instructions get to hand, you are to make 
immediate apphcation to the proper persons to get your vessel 
victualled and fitted for sea with all expedition. When this is 
done, you are to proceed on a voyage to some convenient port 
in France ; on your arrival there, apply to the agent, if any, in 
or near said port, for such supplies as you may stand in need of. 
You are at the same time to give immediate notice, by letter, 
to the Honourable Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur 
Lee, Esquires, or any of them at Paris, of your arrival, request- 
ing their instructions as to your further destination ; which in- 
structions you are to obey as far as it shall be in your power. 

" You are to take particular notice, that whilst on the coast 
of France, or in a French port, you are, as much as you con- 
veniently can, to keep your guns covered and concealed, and to 
make as little warlike appearance as possible. Wishing you," 
&c. &c. 

Jones had recommended, in a letter to a member in Congress, 
that the Mellish should be converted into a ship of war ; and 
the secret committee had passed a resolution to that effect ; but 
the intention was abandoned in consequence of letters from him. 
On the 14th June, Congress resolved, "that the flag of the 
United States should be thirteen stripes, alternate red and 
white : that the Union be thirteen stars, while in a blue field, 
representing a new constellation." By another resolution, 
passed the same day, Jones was appointed to command the 
ship Ranger ; on board of which he hoisted the national flag 



70 PAUL JONES. 

for the first time it was displayed on board of a man of war, as 
he had formerly hoisted the colonial one, in the Delaware.* 
He began to fit out this vessel in July ; but was not ready for 
sea before the 15th November following. She was scarcely 
half rigged when he took charge of her, and much difficulty 
was experienced in arming and equipping her. He wrote as 
follows to the Marine Committee on the 29th October. — "With 
all my industry I could not get the single suit of sails comple- 
ted, until the 20th current. Since that time the winds and 
weather have laid me under the necessity of continuing in port. 
At this time it blows a very heavy gale from the N. E. The 
ship with difficulty rides it out, with yards and top mast struck, 
and whole cables ahead. When it clears up, I expect the wind 
from the N. W. and shall not fail to embrace it, although I have 
not now a spare sail, nor materials to make one. Some of those 
I have are made of Hessings, (a coarse thin stuflT.) I never be- 
fore had so disagreeable a service to perform, as that which I 
have now accomplished, and of which another will claim the 
credit as well as the profit. However, in doing my utmost, I 
am sensible that I have done no more than my duty. I have 
now to acknowledge the honour of having received your orders 
of the 6th ultimo ; and that I have before me the pleasing pros- 
pect of being the welcome messenger at Paris of the joyful and 
important news of Burgoyne's surrender. I have received de- 
spatches from the Council of Massachusetts, for the com- 
missioners, by express. I shall, therefore, not go out of my 
course, unless I see a fair opportunity of distressing the enemy, 
and of rendering services to America." 

Twenty-six guns were provided for the Ranger ; but Jones 
wrote that he purposed to carry no more than 18 six pounders, 
as he thought the ship incapable of carrying a greater number 
so as to be serviceable. He complained that they were all three 
diameters of the bore too short. He found no difficulty in pro- 



See Appendix, No. IV. 



1 



PAUL JONES. 71 

curing men, but he was badly provided with stores, having only 
thirty gallons of rum for his whole crew. With this indifferent 
armament he sailed from Portsmouth on the first of November, 
and arrived at Nantes on the 2d December following. He found 
the Ranger very crank, owing to the improper quality of her 
ballast ; which induced him on his arrival to shorten her lower 
masts, and ballast with lead. The following particulars of his 
cruise are given in his letter from Nantes to the Marine Com- 
mittee. — " After passing the Western Islands, I fell in with and 
brought to, a number of ships, but met with no English proper- 
ty, till within eighty leagues of Ushant. I then fell in with a 
fleet of ten sail with a strong convoy, bound up the channel ; 
but notwithstanding my endeavours, I was unable to detach any 
of them from the convoy. I took two brigantines from Malaga 
with fruit for London. One of the prizes has arrived here. 
The other, I am now told, is in Quiberon Bay. I arrived here 
on the 2d current, without having met with any misfortune on 
the passage, though I met with some very severe weather. Be- 
sides the fleet already mentioned, I fell in with several ships in 
the night ; so that I have had agreeable proofs of the active 
spirit both of my oflicers and men. Though they have not for- 
merly been conversant in the management of ships of war, yet 
I am persuaded they will behave well, should I have an oppor- 
tunity of bringing them to action, &c." He does not mention 
in this letter the particulars of his meeting with the Invincible ; 
a ship of seventy-four guns, which was giving convoy to a few 
ships from Gibraltar. He speaks of the affair in his narrative 
for the king of France, as a " near rencounter ;" and in his let- 
ter from the Texel, he says, " I could not help chasing the In- 
vincible, by the way." 

Determining to attend to the necessary alterations and equip- 
ment of the Ranger in person, his first act on arriving at Nantes 
was to write on the 5th December to the commissioners of Con- 
gress at Paris, — Dr. Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee. 
The following is an extract from the letter : 

" I yesterday, enclosed you copies of two letters which I wrote 



72 PAUL JONES. 

you previous to my departure from Portsmouth, together with 
a plan which I drew up at Philadelphia, on the regulation and 
equipment of our infant navy. It is my first and favourite wish 
to be employed in active and enterprising services, when there 
is a prospect of rendering acceptable services to America. The 
singular honour which Congress have done me by their generous 
acknowledgment of my past services, hath inspired me with 
sentiments of gratitude which I shall carry with me to my grave ; 
and if a life of services devoted to America can be made instru- 
mental in securing its independence, I shall regard the continu- 
ance of such approbation as an honour far superior to what 
kings even could bestow." 

" I am ready to lay before you any orders, which I have re- 
ceived from Congress. At present I take the liberty of enclo- 
sing for your inspection a very honourable and unexpected 
appointment, &c." " I have always, since we have had 
ships of war, been persuaded that small squadrons could be em- 
ployed to far better advantage on private expeditions, and 
would distress the enemy infinitely more than the same force 
could do, by cruising either jointly or separately. Were strict 
secrecy observed on our part, the enemy have many important 
places in such a defenceless situation, that they might be effect- 
ually surprised and attacked, with no very considerable force. 
We cannot yet fight their navy ; as their numbers and force are 
so far superior to ours. Therefore it seems to be our most 
natural province to surprise their defenceless places ; and there- 
by divert their attention, and draw it off from our coasts. But 
you see that my honourable correspondent is, and I know that 
many others are, of the same opinion." 

The course here recommended by Jones was the only one 
which eventually was found feasible. He was soon summoned 
to Paris by the Commissioners, to consult with them upon the 
measures to be adopted for annoying the enemy. France was 
not yet in open hostility with England, nor had the commis- 
sioners been recognised as plenipotentiaries. Jones was direct- 
ed to keep his guns as much concealed as possible while on the 



PAUL JONES. '23 

French coasts. He was destined to meet with a serious disap- 
pointment, in being obliged to assent to the transfer of the Indian, 
the " fine ship" of which he had expected to receive the com- 
mand, and which was building at Amsterdam, to the French 
Government. Considering the irritability of his character, we 
do not find that he bore this miscarriage very ungraciously. 
Congress certainly had intended that he should take command 
of this vessel, or of one of equal force ; and he made their reso- 
lution a ground for claiming the rank which such a command 
would have given him. But he submitted to parting with the 
Indian with tolerable good humour, as the extracts from his let- 
ters will show. This is mentioned, because he has been charged 
with writing to Congress " in no very modest terms." In his 
first despatch from Nantes to the marine committee, he says : 
" I understand, though I have yet received no letter, that the 
commissioners had provided for me one of the finest frigates 
that ever was built ; calculated for thirty guns on one deck ; 
and capable of carrying thirty-six pounders ; but were under 
the necessity of giving her up, on account of some difficulties 
which they met with at court. Perhaps the news of our late 
successes may now put that court in a better humour. But my 
unfeigned thanks are equally due for the intention as for the 
act." Writing again to the same committee, on the 22d De- 
cember, the day after he had received a request from the com- 
missioners to attend them at Paris, he declared his intention to 
proceed to sea with the Ranger, without loss of time, should 
there be any delay in obtaining additional force. In his narra- 
tive for the king of France, corrected by himself, in speaking of 
the " assignment of the property of that famous frigate, the 
Indian," he has interlined, " with the consent of Captain 
Jones." 

Writing to the Marine Committee subsequently, on the sub- 
ject, he said : " Deeply sensible of the honour which Congress 
has conferred upon me, communicated in the orders of the Secret 
Committee to the commissioners, I can bear the disappoint- 
ment with philosophy. Yet I confess I was rather hurt, when 

9 



74 PAUL JONES. 

at Paris, I understood that the new frigate at Amsterdam had 
never been intended for me, before my appearance, but for the 
constructer." 

After conferring with the commissioners on the various 
schemes he had to suggest, he returned to Nantes to complete 
the Ranger's equipments, and on the 16th of January 1788, he 
received from them their instructions as to his conduct on the 
cruise he proposed making. They were as follows, giving him 
almost unlimited discretion ; which he was perfectly willing to 
assume, though it seems from one of his despatches that he did 
not understand the commissioners as " promising even to justify 
him, should he fail in any bold attempt." 

*' Paris, January IQth, 1788. 
<* Captain Jones, 

" Sir — As it is not in our power to procure you such a ship 
as you expected, we advise you, after equipping the Ranger in 
the best manner for the cruise you propose, that you proceed 
with her in the manner you shall judge best for distressing the 
enemies of the United States, by sea or otherwise, consistent 
with the laws of war, and the terms of your commission." 
[Directions here follow for sending prizes taken on the coast of 
France and Spain, into Bilboa or Coronge, unless the danger 
was too great, in which case they were to be sent to L'Orient 
or Bordeaux.] " If you make an attempt on the coast of Great 
Britain we advise you not to return immediately into the ports 
of France, unless forced by stress of weather, or the pursuit of 
the enemy; and in such case you can make the proper repre- 
sentation to the officers of the port, and acquaint us with your 
situation. We rely on your ability, as well as your zeal to serve 
the United States, and therefore do not give you particular in 
structions as to your operations. We must caution you against 
giving any cause of complaint to the subjects of France or Spain, 
or of other neutral powers ; and recommend it to you to show 
them every proper mark of respect, and real civility, which may 
be in your power." 



Mr. Arthur Lee did not approve of a part of these instruc- 
tions, directing the sale of the prizes to be iatrusted to other 
hands than those of the commercial agents. He expressed his 
want of confidence in Mr. Gourlade, one of the persons men- 
tioned, at L' Orient, and did not sign the letter. Messrs. Frank- 
lin and Deane knew of nothing done by Gourlade, to impair 
their confidence in him. Agreeably to the suggestion of Jones, 
they addressed an intimation to the crew of the Ranger, promis- 
ing, " in case of their good and gallant behaviour, to recommend 
them to Congress for a generous gratification, proportioned to 
their merits." 

On the 10th of February, Jones says in his Journal to the 
king of France, " on receiving agreeable news of affairs in 
America, and the position of Lord Howe's fleet, he wrote a let- 
ter to Mr. Deane, one of the commissioners of Congress at 
Paris, containing the plan that was adopted for Count D'Es- 
taing's expedition ; which would have ended the war, had it 
been immediately pursued." He has been censured for assum- 
ing to himself the original merit of devising this important 
measure. It is certain, that he repeatedly makes the assertion 
that he furnished the outline of the project.* In a letter to M. 
De Sartine, the French minister of marine, written subsequent- 
ly, he says : 

" Had Count D'Estaing arrived in the Delaware a few days 
sooner, he might have made a most glorious and easy conquest. 
Many successful projects may be adopted from the hints which 
I had the honour to draw up ; and if I can still furnish more, or 
execute any of these already furnished, so as to distress and 
humble the common enemy, it will afford me the truest plea- 
sure." It may naturally be inferred, that the operations of Count 
D'Estaing's fleet was a subject discussed in the consultations held 
by Jones with the commissioners, on his first brief visit to Paris, 
though he does not intimate that any such conversation took place. 
It cannot be doubted, that he was peculiarly qualified to give 

* See Appendix. No. V.- 



76 PAUL J0JVE6. 

important advice, from his accurate acquaintance with the locali- 
ties of the Delaware, and the navigation of the waters in the vi- 
cinity of the scene selected for the intended operation. It will 
also not be doubted, that his advice Avould naturally be of a da- 
ring character, recommending bold measures as best calculated 
to lead to great results. There can be no reason for impeach- 
ing his veracity, when he affirms that he forwarded his plan to 
Mr. Deane at the time mentioned ; nor does it appear that he 
exclusively arrogated the praise due to the wisdom with which 
the scheme was conceived. He put in a claim for his fair share 
of the honour ; and there is no evidence against his title to it. 
No copy of the letter he speaks of is preserved among the pa- 
pers and volumes which the compiler has in his possession. As 
secrecy was essential in effecting the proposed object, no men- 
tion is of course made of it in his general correspondence at the 
time. It failed, as is well known, from the delay which occur- 
red, and which enabled Lord Howe to place his fleet and trans- 
ports in safety. 

From Nantes, Jones proceeded in the Ranger for Quiberon 
Bay, whither "he convoyed some American vessels, that desired 
to sail out under the protection of the French squadron in that 
road, commanded by Monsieur La Motte Picquet. From that 
brave officer, Captain Jones claimed and obtained the first sa- 
lute the flag of America ever received. Some days afterwards, 
he claimed and obtained the same honour from Count D'Orvil- 
liers, commander in chief of the fleet at Brest. Both these 
salutes preceded the publication of the treaty of alliance."* 

This first salute was not obtained, however, without some di- 
plomacy and negotiation, in which Jones showed both firmness 
and address. The following letters were written by him on the 

occasion. 

" Fehruary Uth, 1778. 
"Dear Sir, 

' I am extremely sorry to give you fresh trouble, but I think 

th(; Admiral's answer of yesterday requires an explanation. 

* Narrative for the king of France. 



PAUL JONES. 77 

The haughty Enghsh return gun for gun to foreign officers of 
equal rank, and two less only to captains by flag-officers. It is 
true, my command at present is not important, yet, as the senior 
American officer at present in Europe, it is my duty to claim an 
equal return of respect to the flag of the United States that would 
be shown to any other flag, whatever. 

" 1 therefore take the liberty of enclosing an appointment, 
perhaps as respectable as any which the French Admiral can 
produce ; besides which, I have others in my possession. 

" If, however, he persists in refusing to return an equal sa- 
lute, I will accept of two guns less, as I have not the rank of 
Admiral. 

"It is my opinion, that he would return four less to a priva- 
teer or a merchant ship ; therefore, as I have been honoured 
oftener than once with a chief command of ships of war, I can- 
not, in honour, accept of the same terms of respect. 

" You will singularly oblige me by waiting upon the Admi- 
ral ; and I ardently hope you will succeed in the application, 
else I shall be under a necessity of departing without coming 
into the bay. I have the honour to be, &c. &.c. 
" To William Carmichael, Esq. 

" N. B. — Though thirteen guns is your greatest salute in 
America, yet if the French Admiral should prefer a greater 
number, he has his choice, on conditions.'''' 

Writing to Mr. Jonathan Williams on the following day, he says, 
" I propose to salute the Admiral in open day ; that no evasion 
may afterwards be made." He wrote as follows to the Marine 
Committee, on the 22d February. " I am happy in having it 
in my power to congratulate you on my having seen the Amer- 
ican flag, for the first time, recogni-sed, in the fullest and com- 
pletest manner by the flag of France. I was off" their bay the 
13th, and sent my boat in the next day, to know if the Admiral 
would return my salute. He answered that he would return to 
me, as the senior American continental officer in Europe, the 
same salute which he was authorized by his court to return to 



7$ PAUL JONES. 

an Admiral of Holland, or of any other Republic, which was 
four guns less than the salute given. I hesitated at this ; for I 
had demanded gun for gun. Therefore, I anchored in the en- 
trance of the bay, at a distance from the French fleet ; but after 
a very particular inquiry on the 14th, finding that he had really 
told the truth, I was induced to accept of his offer, the more so, 
as it was in fact an acknowledgment of American Independence. 
The wind being contrary, and blowing hard, it was after sunset 
before the Ranger got near enough to salute La Motte Picquet 
with thirteen guns ; which he returned with nine. However, 
to put the matter beyond a doubt, I did not suffer the Indepen- 
dence to salute till next morning, when I sent the Admiral word 
that I should sail through his fleet in the brig, and would salute 
him in open day. He was exceedingly pleased, and returned 
the compliment also with nine guns." 

" I have in contemplation several enterprises of some impor- 
tance. * * * When an enemy thinks a design against him im- 
probable, he can always be surprised and attacked with advan- 
tage. It is true, I must run great risk ; but no gallant action 
was ever performed without danger. Therefore, though I can- 
not ensure success, I will endeavour to deserve it." 

Writing on the same date to the secret committee, thanking 
them for the flattering terms in which he had been recommend- 
ed to the commissioners, and his services been spoken of, he en- 
closed an ode of a patriotic character, which had been written 
in France, begging that it might be laid before Congress, and 
intimating a hope that the author would be considered worthy 
of the attention of that body. What notice that grave assembly 
took of the metrical eflfusion and its composer, does not appear. 

He says that at this time " Count D'Orvilliers, through 
whom he communicated hi& idea for an expedition to America 
to M. De Sartine, offered, on account of the smallness of Ixis 
frigate, to procure for him a commission of Captain, in the 
Royal Navy of France, which he refused." 

He sailed from Brest on the lOth ApriJl, on his first memora- 
ble cruise. The commissioners had no exact idea of his inten- 



PAUL JONES. 79 

tions. He " at first had thoughts of striking a blow on the 
south side of England ; but being detained for some time by 
contrary and stormy winds at Brest, he abandoned that 
scheme." The most ample and interesting account of this 
cruise is given in his letter to the American Commissioners, 
written on the 27th May, from Brest. It is said to be confirm- 
ed, in all its details, by log-books in the possession of individuals 
in Scotland. It has been very frequently published, but its in- 
sertion entire is essential here. 

" I have now to fulfil the promise made in my last, by giving 
you an account of my late expedition. 

*' I sailed from Brest the 10th of April ; my plan was exten- 
sive, T therefore did not at the beginning wish to encumber my- 
self with prisoners. On the 14th I took a brigantine between 
Scilly and Cape Clear, bound for Ostend, with a cargo of flax- 
seed for Ireland, sunk her, and proceeded into St. George's 
Channel. 

" On the 17th I took the ship Lord Chatham, bound from 
London to Dublin, with a cargo consisting of porter, and a 
variety of merchandise, and almost within sight of her port ; 
this ship I manned and ordered for Brest. 

" Towards the evening of the day following, the weather had 
a piomising appearance, and, the wind being favourable, I 
stood over from the Isle of Man with an intention to make a 
descent at Whitehaven ; at ten I was oft' the harbour with a 
party of volunteers, and had every thing in readiness to land ; 
but before eleven the wind greatly increased and shifted, so as 
to blow directly upon the shore ; the sea increased of course, 
and it became impossible to effect a landing. This obliged me 
to carry all possible sail so as to clear the land, and to await a 
more favourable opportunity. 

" On the 18th, in Glentinebay, on the south coast of Scot- 
land, I met with a revenue wherry ; it being the common prac- 
tice of these vessels to board merchant ships, the Ranger then 
having no external appearance of war, it was expected that this 



80 PAUL JONES. 

rover would have come alongside ; I was, however, mistaken, 
for though the men were at their quarters, yet this vessel out- 
sailed the Ranger, and got clear in spite of a severe cannonade. 

" The next morning, off" the Mull of Galloway, I found my- 
self so near a Scotch coasting schooner, loaded with barley, that 
I could not avoid sinking her. Understanding that there were 
ten or twelve sail of merchant ships, besides a Tender brigan- 
tine, with a number of impressed men on board, at anchor in 
Lochryan, in Scotland, I thought this an enterprise worthy my 
attention ; but the wind, which at the first woidd have served 
equally well to have sailed in or out of the Loch, shifted in a 
hard squall, so as to blow almost directly in, with an appearance 
of bad weather. I was therefore obliged to abandon my project. 

" Seeing a cutter off the lee-bow stearing for the Clyde, I 
gave chase, in hopes of cutting her off; but finding my endea- 
Tours ineffectual, I pursued no farther than the Rock of Ailsa. 
In the evening I fell in with a sloop from Dublin, which I sunk, 
to prevent intelligence. 

** The next day, the 21st, being near Carrickfergus, a fish 
ing-boat came off, which I detained. I saw a ship at anchor in 
the road, which I was informed by the fishermen was the British 
ship of war Drake, of twenty guns. I determined to attack 
her in the night ; my plan was to overlay her cable, and to fall 
upon her bow, so as to have all her decks open and exposed to 
our musquetry, &c. ; at the same time, it was my intention to 
have secured the enemy by grapplings, so that, had they cut 
their cables, they would not thereby have attained an advan- 
tage. The wind was high, and unfortunately the anchor was 
not let go so soon as the order was given, so that the Ranger 
was brought to upon the. enemy's quarter at the distance of half a 
cable's length. We had made no warlike appearance, of course 
had given no alarm ; this determined me to cut immediately, 
which might appear as if the cable had parted, and at the same 
time enable me, after making a tack out of the Loch, to return 
with the same prospect of advantage which I had at the first. I 
was, however, prevented from returning, as I with difficulty 



PAUL JONES. 81 

weathered the hghthouse on the lee-side of the Loch, and as 
the gale increased. The weather now became so very stormy 
and severe, and the sea ran so high, that I was obliged to take 
shelter under the south shore of Scotland. 

" The 22d introduced fair weather, though the three king- 
doms were, as far as the eye could reach, covered with snow. 
I now resolved once more to attempt Whitehaven ; but the 
wind became very light, so that the ship would not in proper 
time approach so near as I had intended. At midnight I left 
the ship with two boats and thirty-one volunteers ; when we 
reached the outer pier, the day began to dawn ; I would not, 
however, abandon my enterprise, but despatched one boat under 
the direction of Mr. Hill and Lieutenant Wallingsford, with the 
necessary combustibles to set fire to the shipping on the north 
side of the harbour, while I went with the other party to attempt 
the south side. I was successful in scaling the walls and 
spiking up all the cannon on the first fort ; finding the sentinels 
shut up in the guard-house, they were secured without being 
hurt. Having fixed sentinels, I now took with me one man 
only, (Mr. Green,) and spiked up all the cannon on the southern 
fort, distant from the other a quarter of a mile. 

" On my return from this business, I naturally expected to 
see the fire of the ships on the north side, as well as to find my 
own party with every thing in readiness to set fire to the ship- 
ping on the south ; instead of this, I found the boat under the 
direction of Mr. Hill and Mr. Wallingsford returned, and the 
party in some confusion, their light having burnt out at the in- 
stant when it became necessary.* 



* Jones did not soon surmount the disappointment occasioned by this 
misunderstanding on the part of his officers. In a memoi'ial to Con- 
gress, he says, " My first object was to secure an exchange of prisoners 
in Europe, and my second to put an end, by one good fire in England 
of shipping, to all the burnings in America. I succeeded in tlie first, 
even by means far more glorious than my most flattering ideas had ex- 

10 



82 PAUL JONES. 

" By the strangest fatality, my own party were in the same 
situation, the candles being all burnt out. The day too came 
on apace, yet I would by no means retreat while any hopes of 
success remained. Having again placed sentinels, a light was 
obtained at a house disjoined from the town, and a fire was 
kindled in the steerage of a large ship, which was surrounded 
by at least a hundred and fifty others, chiefly from two to four 
hundred tons burthen, and lying side by side, aground, unsur- 
rounded by the water. 

" There were, besides, from seventy to a hundred large 
ships in the north arm of the harbour, aground, clear of the 
water, and divided from the rest only by a stone pier of a ship's 
height. I should have kindled fires in other places if the time 
had permitted ; as it did not, our care was to prevent the one 
kindled from being easily extinguished. After some search, a 
barrel of tar was found, and poured into the flames, which now 
ascended from all the hatchways. The inhabitants began to 
appear in thousands, and individuals ran hastily towards us. I 
stood between them and the ship on fire, with a pistol in my 
hand, and ordered them to retire, which they did with precipita- 
tion. The flames had already caught the rigging, and began 
to ascend the main-mast ; the sun was a full hour's march above 
the horizon, and as sleep no longer ruled the world, it was time 
to retire. We re-embarked without opposition, having released 
a number of prisoners, as our boats could not carry them. Af- 
ter all my people had embarked, I stood upon the pier for a 



pected when I left France. In the second, I endeavoured to desei^ve 
success ; but a wise officer of mine observed, that ' it was a rash thing, 
and that nothing could be got by burning poor people's property.' I 
must, however, do him the justice to mention his acknowledgment, that 
he had no turn for enterprise ; and I must also do equal justice to my 
former officers in the Providence and the Alfred, by declaring, that had 
they been with me in the Ranger, two hundred and fifty, or three hun- 
dred sail of large ships at Whitehaven would have been laid in ashes." 



PAUL JONES. 83 

considerable space, yet no person advanced : I saw all the 
eminences round the town covered with the amazed inhabitants. 

" When we had rowed to a considerable distance from the 
shore, the English began to run in vast numbers to their forts ; 
their disappointment may easily be imagined when they found, 
I suppose, at least thirty heavy cannon (the instruments of their 
vengeance) rendered useless. At length, however, they began 
to fire, having, as I apprehend, either brought down ships' guns, 
or used one or two cannon which lay on the beach at the foot of 
the walls, dismounted, and which had not been spiked. They 
fired with no direction, and the shot falling short of the boats, 
instead of doing us any damage, afforded some diversion ; which 
my people could not help showing, by discharging their pistols, 
&,c. in return of the salute. Had it been possible to have land- 
ed a few hours sooner, my success would have been complete. 
Not a single ship, out of more than two hundred, could possibly 
have escaped, and all the world would not have been able to 
save the town. What was done, however, is sufficient to show, 
that not all their boasted navy can protect their own coasts ; 
and that the scenes of distress, which they have occasioned in 
America, may be soon brought home to their own door. One 
of my people was missing; and must, I fear, have fallen into 
the enemies' hands after our departure.* I was pleased that in 
this business we neither killed nor wounded any person. I 
brought off" three prisoners as a sample. 

" We now stood over for the Scotch shore ; and I landed at 
noon at St. Mary's Isle, with one boat only, and a very small 
party. The motives which induced me to land there, are ex- 



* In the Ranger's log-book this man is named David Smith. He is 
probably the same person who, under the name of Freeman, gave in- 
formation at several houses in a street adjoining the piers, that fire had 
been set to a ship, and afterwards other information that appears sub- 
stantially correct. He must have remained on shore voluntarily. Note 
in the Edinburgh Life. 



84 PAUL JONES. 

plained in the within copy of a letter which I have addressed to 
the Countess of Selkirk, dated the 8th instant. 

" On the morning of the 24th, I was again off Carrickfergus, 
and would have gone in, had I not seen the Drake preparing 
to come out. It was very moderate, and the Drake's boat was 
sent out to reconnoitre the Ranger. As the boat advanced, I 
kept the ship's stern directly towards her ; and though they had 
a spy-glass in the boat, they came on within hail, and along 
side. When the officer came on the quarter deck, he was 
greatly surprised to find himself a prisoner ; although an ex- 
press had arrived from Whitehaven the night before. I now 
understood, what I had before imagined, that the Drake came, 
out in consequence of this information, with volunteers, against 
the Ranger- The officer told me also, that they had taken up 
the Ranger's anchor. The Drake was attended by five small 
vessels full of people, who were led by curiosity to see an 
engagement. But when they saw the Drake's boat at the 
Ranger's stern, they wisely put back. 

" Alarm smokes now appeared in great abundance, extending 
along on both sides of the channel. The tide was unfavourable, 
so that the Drake worked out but slowly. This obliged me to 
run down several times, and to lay with courses up, and main- 
topsail to the mast. At length the Drake weathered the point, 
and having led her out to about mid-channel, I suffered her to 
come within hail. The Drake hoisted English colours, and at 
the same instant, the American stars were displayed on board 
the Ranger. I expected that preface had been now at an end, 
but the enemy soon after hailed, demanding what ship it was ? 
I directed the master to answer, "the American Continental 
ship Ranger ; that we waited for them, and desired that they 
would come on ; the sun was now little more than an hour from 
setting, it was therefore time to begin." The Drake being 
astern of the Ranger, I ordered the helm up, and gave her the 
first broadside. The action was warm, close, and obstinate. It 
lasted an hour and four minutes, when the enemy called for 
quarters ; her fore and main-topsail yards being both cut away, 



PAUL JO^ES. 85 

and down on the cap; the top-gallant yard and mizen-gaffboth 
hanging up and down along the mast ; the second ensign which 
they had hoisted shot away, and hanging on the quarter gallery 
in the water ; the jib shot away, and hanging in the water ; her 
sails and rigging entirely cut to pieces ; her masts and yards all 
wounded, and her hull also very much galled. I lost only Lieu- 
tenant Wallingsford and one seaman, John Dougall, killed, and 
six wounded ; among whom are the gunner, Mr. Falls, and Mr. 
Powers, a midshipman, who lost his arm. One of the wounded, 
Nathaniel Wills, is since dead : the rest will recover. The loss 
of the enemy in killed and wounded, was far greater. All the 
prisoners allow, that they came out with a number not less than 
a hundred and sixty men : and many of them affirm that they 
amounted to a hundred and ninety. The medium may, perhaps, 
be the most exact account ; and by that it will appear that they 
lost in killed and wounded, forty-two men. The captain and 
lieutenant were among the wounded; the former, having re- 
ceived a musket ball in the head the minute before they called 
for quarters, lived, and was sensible some time after my people 
boarded the prize. The lieutenant survived two days. They 
were buried with the honours due to their rank, and with the 
respect due to their memory. 

" The night and almost the whole day after the action being 
moderate, greatly facilitated the refitting of both ships. A large 
brigantine was so near the Drake in the afternoon, that I was 
obliged to bring her to. She belonged to Whitehaven, and 
was bound for Norway. 

" Ihad thought of returning by the south channel ; but the wind 
shifting, I determined to pass by the north, and round the west 
coast of Ireland. This brought me once more off Belfast 
Lough, on the evening after the engagement. It was now time 
to release the honest fishermen, whom I took up here on the 
21st. And as the poor fellows had lost their boat, she having 
sunk in the late stormy weather, I was happy in having it in my 
power to give them the necessary sum to purchase every thing 
new which they had lost. I gave them also a good boat to 



86 PAUL JONES. 

transport themselves ashortf ; and sent with them two infirm 
men, on whom I bestowed the last guinea in my possession, to 
defray their travelling expenses to their proper home in Dublin. 
They took with them one of the Drake's sails, which would suf- 
ficiently explain what had happened to the volunteers. The 
grateful fishermen were in raptures ; and expressed their joy in 
three huzzas as they passed the Ranger's quarter. 

"I again met with contrary winds in the mouth of the North 
Channel, but nothing remarkable happened, till on the morning 
of the 5th, current, Ushant then bearing S. E. by S. distance 
fifteen leagues, when seeing a sail to leeward steering for the 
Channel, the wind being favourable for Brest, and the distance 
trifling, I resolved to give chase, having the Drake in tow. I 
informed them of my intentions, and ordered them to cast ofi^. 
They cut the hawser. The Ranger in the chase went lasking 
between N. N. E. and N. N. W. It lasted an hour and ten 
minutes, when the chase was hailed and proved a Swede. I 
immediately hauled by the wind to the southward. 

" After cutting the hawser, the Drake went from the wind for 
some time, then hauled close by the wind, steering from S. S. 
E. to S. S. W. as the wind permitted, so that when the Ranger 
spoke the chase, the Drake was scarcely perceptible. In the 
course of the day many large ships appeared, steering into the 
Channel, but the extraordinary evolutions of the Drake made it 
impossible for me to avail myself of these favourable circum- 
stances. Towards noon it became veiy squally, the wind back- 
ed from the S. W. to the W. The Ranger had come up with 
the Drake, and was nearly abreast of her, though considerably 
to the leeward, when the wind shifted. The Drake was, how- 
ever, kept by the wind, though, as I afterward understood, they 
knew the Ranger and saw the signal which she had hoisted. 
After various evolutions and signals in the night, I gave chase 
to a sail which appeared bearing S. S. W. the next morning at 
a great distance. The chase discovered no intention to speak 
with the Ranger; she was, however, at length brought to, and 
proved to be the Drake. I immediately put Lieutenant Simp- 



PAUL JONES. 87 

son under suspension and arrest, for disobedience of my orders, 
dated the 26th ult. a copy whereof is here enclosed. On the 
8th, both ships anchored safe in this Road, the Ranger having 
been absent only twenty-eight days." 

The surprise produced in Great Britain by this daring and 
successful attempt upon her coasts, must have been as great as 
the latter was unexpected.* His objects were distinctly to strike 
some bold stroke, which should inspire fear of the American 
arms, to retaliate for the burning of towns and destruction of 
private property, to destroy as much public property as he could, 
and to secure a number of prisoners, as hostages for the better 
treatment of the captured Americans, who were suffering miser- 
ably in the jails and hulks of the enemy. He had wisely calcu- 
lated on the effect of sudden measures, and the total security 
and contemptuous confidence of the people, of the fast-anchored 
isle. The unwarlike character of the inhabitants in the vicinity 
of the Frith, which had not been entered for centuries by the 
prow of an invader, rendered the chances of resistance to a 
brisk attack very small.t Still the extent of Jones' success can- 



* It would seem, however, from the following extract from London 
papers of the 22d February, 1778, that Jones excited some attention 
in England, before his descent upon Whitehaven. Perhaps the date 
may be erroneous as to the ycEir. 

" Paul Jones is about thirty-six years of age, of a middling stature, 
well proportioned, with an agreeable countenance ; his conversation 
shows him a man of talents, and that he has got a liberal education. 
His letters in foreign Gazettes show he can fight with the pen as well 
as the sword. The famous Captain Cunningham is with him, who 
escaped out of an English prison." 

t The worthy and cautious citizens of Aberdeen were the only per- 
sons greatly alarmed on this occasion. In the Scots Magazine for 
May, 1778, we find the following paragraph : — 

" On receiving at Aberdeen intelhgence of the plunder of Lord Sel- 
kirk's house and the landing at Whitehaven, a hand-bill was circulated 



88 PAUL JONES. 

not fail to excite astonishment. It was one of the most impu- 
dent attacks since the time of the sea-kings, and it is no wonder 
that those whose eyes were so rudely opened to a discovery of 
their weakness, stigmatized it as inglorious, and its conductor 
as a pirate. It would be a piece of supererogation to offer any 
vindication of Jones, for doing his adopted country such good 
service, by the retaliatory descent upon Whitehaven. It was 
one which he alone could properly execute, from his thorough 
acquaintance with the localities. The sentimental disgust of 
those who censured him for availing himself of that very know- 
ledge, and of " stifling his early associations," is natural enough. 
But war is not waged upon sentimental principles. A notion 
prevailed at the time that Jones' vessel was a privateer. He 
was in command of a United States vessel of war, fully com- 
missioned ; and if in performing his duty to the utmost, he con- 
quered the repugnance he might have felt at making a hostile 
entry among the scenes of his infancy, the merit of his victories 
is but the more enhanced when he is considered as an oflicer. 
Praise too has been so generally awarded to him for the mea- 
sures he afterwards took, to redeem the plate of the Countess 
of Selkirk and restore it to its owners, that it is unnecessary to 
apologize for a transaction which he has so satisfactorily ex- 
plained. Other officers have enjoyed fair reputations, who 
made no such sacrifices to restore private property taken by 
those under their command. One of his first acts on returning 
to Brest, w^as to address the countess on the subject, in the well 



by order of the Magistrates, to set on foot an association of the inhabi- 
tants for defence, and in a few days 120 were enrolled." 

The affair never went farther. Another American vessel, which 
landed a party, and plundered the house of Mr. Gordon, near Banff, 
must have quickened their apprehensions ; but no alarm was seriously 
felt till the squadron of Paul Jones appeared in the frith of Forth. 
Even then the panic was short-lived. 

Note in the Edinburgh life. 



PAUL JONES. 89 

known letter, which we shall here insert. To be assured of its 
reaching the lady, he forwarded triplicates, one of which was 
enclosed open to Dr. Franklin, for his perusal. In the letter 
enclosing it, he says : "I cannot but feel myself hurt, by the 
dirty insinuation of the enemy, that my enterprise at White- 
haven was in consequence of a capital sum, paid me in hand by 
the court of France. They have more visits of the same kind to 
expect, if I am not deprived of the means of making them, and 
that too, without my having either a certainty, or a hope of gain." 

"To THE Countess of Selkirk. 

''Ranger, Brest, May Sth 1778. 
"Madam, 

" It cannot be too much lamented, that in the profession of 
arms, the officer of fine feeling and of real sensibility should be 
under the necessity of winking at any action of persons under his 
command, which his heart cannot approve ; but the reflection 
is doubly severe, when he finds himself obliged, in appearance, 
to countenance such actions by his authority. 

' This hard case was mine, when, on the 2-3d of April last, 1 
landed on St. Mai-y's Isle. Knowing Lord Selkirk's interest 
with his king, and esteeming, as I do, his private character, I 
wished to make him the happy instrument of alleviating the hor- 
rors of hopeless captivity, when the brave are overpowered and 
made prisoners of war. 

" It was, perhaps, fortunate for you. Madam, that he was from 
home ; for it was my intention to have taken him on board the 
Ranger, and to have detained him until, through his means, a 
general and fair exchange of prisoners, as well in Europe as in 
America, had been effected. 

"When I was informed, by some men whom I met at landing, 
that his lordship was absent, I walked back to my boat, deter- 
mined to leave the island. By the way, however, some offi- 
cers, who were with mc, could not forbear expressing their dis- 
content ; observing that, in America, no delicacy was shown by 
the English, who took away all sorts of moveable property— 

11 



90 PATTL JONES. 

setting fire, not only to towns and to the houses of the rich, 
without distinction, but not even sparing the wretched hamlets 
and niilch-cows of the poor and helpless, at the approach of an 
inclement winter. That party had been with me, the same 
morning, at Whitehaven ; some complaisance, therefore, was 
their due. I had but a moment to think how I might gratify 
them, and at the same time do your ladyship the least injury. I 
charged the two officers to permit none of the seamen to enter 
the house, or to hurt any thing about it — to treat you. Madam, 
with the utmost respect — to accept of the plate which was of- 
fered — and to come away without making a search, or demand- 
ing any thing else. 

"I am induced to bcHeve that I was punctually obeyed; since 
I am informed, that the plate which they brought away is far 
short of the quantity expressed in the inventory which accom- 
panied it. I have gratified my men ; and when the plate is sold, 
I shall become the purchaser, and will gratify my own feelings 
by restoring it to you, by such conveyance as you shall please to 
direct. 

" Had the earl been on board the Ranger the following even- 
ing, he would have seen the awful pomp and dreadful carnage of 
a sea engagement ; both afibrding ample subject for the pencil, 
as well as melancholy reflection to the contemplative mind. 
Humanity starts back from such scenes of horror, and cannot 
sufiiciently execrate the vile promoters of this detestable war. 

" For they, 'twas they unslieath'd the ruthless blade, 
And Heaven shall ask the havoc it has made." 

"The British ship of war Drake, moimting twenty guns, with 
more than her full complement of otficers and men, was our 
opponent. The ships met, and the advantage was disputed with 
great fortitude on each side, for an hour and four minutes, when 
the gallant commander of the Drake fell, and victory declared 
in favour of the Ranger. The amiable lieutenant lay mortally 
wounded, besides near forty of the inferior oflicers and crew 
killed and wounded; a melancholy demonstration of the uncer- 



PAUL JONES. 91 

tainty of human prospects, and of the sad reverse of fortune 
which an hour can produce. I huried them in a spacious grave, 
with the honours due to the memory of the brave. 

*' Though I have drawn my sword in the present generous 
struggle for the rights of men, yet I am not in arms as an Amer- 
ican, nor am I in pursuit of riches. My fortune is Hberal enough, 
having no wife nor family, and having lived long enough to know 
that riches cannot ensure happiness. I [)rofess myself a citizen 
of the world, totally unfettered by the little, mean distinctions 
of chmate or of country, which diminish the benevolence of the 
heart and set bounds to philanthro[)y. Before this war was 
begun, I had, at an early time of life, withdrawn from sea ser- 
vice, in favour of " calm contemplation and poetic ease." I 
have sacrificed not only my favourite scheme of life, but the softer 
affections of the heart, and my prospects of domestic happiness, 
and I am ready to sacrifice my life also, with cheerfulness, if 
that forfeiture could restore peace and goodwill among mankind. 

"As the feelings of your gentle bosom cannot but be congenial 
with mine, let me entreat you, Madam, to use your persuasive 
art, with your husband's, to endeavour to stop this cruel and de- 
structive war, in which Britain never can succeed. Heaven can 
never countenance the barbarous and unmanly practice of the 
Britons in America, which savages would blush at, and which, 
if not discontinued, will soon be retaliated on Britian by a justly 
enraged people. Should you fail in this, (for I am persuaded 
that you will attempt it, and who can resist the power of such an 
advocate r) your endeavours to effect a general exchange of pri- 
soners will be an act of humanity which will aftbrd you golden 
feelings on a death-bed. 

" I hope this cruel contest will soon be closed; but should it 
continue, I wage no war with the fair. I acknowledge their 
force, and bend before it with submission. Let not, therefore, 
the amiable Countess of Selkirk regard me as an enemy ; 1 am 
ambitious of her esteem and friendship, and would do any thing, 
consistent with my duty, to merit it. 

" The honour of a line from your hand in answer to this, will 



92 PAUL JONES. 

lay me under a singular obligation ; and if I can render you any 
acceptable service in France or elsewhere, I hope you see into 
my character so far as to command me without the least grain 
of reserve. 

" I wish to know exactly the behaviour of my people, as I am 
determined to punish them if they have exceeded their liberty. 
I have the honour to be, with much esteem and with profound 
respect. Madam, &c. &c. 

" John Paul Jones." 

As very general publicity was given to this epistle, it is rather 
surprising to find in Mr. Gouldsborough's Naval Chronicle, 
which was printed in 1824, the following loose and unexplained 
notice of the ailair. " It is said that Captain Jones, finding 
him, (the earl of Selkirk,) absent, took the family plate, and 
retired, without offering any other violence to the castle or its 
inhabitants." It is a pity, that, when every English writer of 
later years has done justice to Jones, so far as relates to his 
conduct in this matter, an American work should be in the 
hands of any of our young ofiicers, which might possibly mis- 
lead them, when arraying in the mind's eye the characters of 
those whose deeds are our country's inheritance, and whose 
examples they may desire to emulate. 

Dr. Franklin wrote to Jones, on receiving the copy of the 
letter forwarded to him, that " it was a gallant letter, which 
must give her ladyship a high opinion of his generosity, and 
nobleness of mind." The sage knew that it was in character ; 
and that the romance of the style, as well as its partial inflation, 
being unaffected, would not injure the effect it was intended to 
produce. The subsequent history of this plate is briefly as fol- 
lows. Lord Selkirk wrote a letter in reply to that addressed by 
Jones to his Countess, intimating that he would accept of its 
return, if made by order of Congress, but not if redeemed by 
individual generosity. The letter was detained several months 
at London, in the general post-oflice, and returned to the Earl, 
who requested a gentleman to commmunicate the cause of its 



PAUL JONES. 



93 



miscarriage and its tenor, orally, to Doctor Franklin. The 
Doctor immediately informed Jones, of the substance of this 
communication. It was not until the beginning of 1780, that 
the latter was enabled to get the property he was determined 
to restore, into his possession. It had fallen into the hands of 
the prize agents, from whom it was obtained with considerablii 
difficulty ;* and not till after several valuations, and until it cost 
him who redeemed it, more, as he intimates, than it was intrinsi- 
cally worth ; though he carefully avoids mentioning that circum- 
stance in his second letter to the Countess. 

When he had succeeded in effecting this object, he wrote 
again to the Countess of Selkirk ; but his voyage to America, 
and other circumstances, retarded its delivery until 1784. It 
was eventually returned in the same condition in which it had 
been removed, and a letter from Lord Selkirk acknowledged in 
terms satisfactory, though formal, the unwearied pains which 
Captain Jones hai taken to procure its restoration. The cor- 
respondence on this subject will be found in the note.t 



* A few weeks after his arrival at Brest, he wrote to M. Schweig- 
hauser, commercial agent for the commissioners at Nantes, and to the 
Intendant of Marine at Brest, desiring that the plate, with some bag- 
gage and other articles specified should be reserved, and not deposited 
in the public stores. The request was not complied with. On the 
10th of February 1779, the commissioners directed that it should be 
given up. It would appear by a note from Jones sent a few days after 
to M. Schweighauser, that he was to settle with him for seventeen 
twentieths of the captors' moiety of its value. This correspondence would 
swell this volume unnecessarily. Jones says, in a note to Mr. Wil- 
liams, that the plate was very old, and the fashion of it not worth a 
straw, especially in France, where none such was used. 

t " VOrient, March \st, 1780, 

"The Right Honourable the Countess of Selkirk, 1 
Sec. &c. St. Mary's Isle, Scotland. 5 

" Madam, 

" It is now ten or eleven months since his Excellency Benjamin 

Franklin, Esq. Minister Plenipotentiary for the United States of 



94 PAUL JONES. 

The copy of the order given to Lieutenant Simpson when the 
latter was put in charge of the Drake, for disobeying which he 
was put under arrest, as is mentioned in the letter to the Pleni- 
potentiaries, is said in the copy of that letter, certified from the 
office of the secretary of Congress, to be missing. It is inti- 
mated, upon what authority does not appear, that Simpson had 
been insubordinate from the beginning ; that he excited the 
men to discontent ; and that frequent disagreements had taken 
place between him and his commander. It is also plausibly 
suggested that when the Ranger left Portsmouth, he expected 
to be in command of her on her arriving at France, where a 
large ship had been promised to Jones. There is every reason to 
believe that Simpson was little inclined to submit to that disci- 



America at the Court of France, communicated to me a message from 
the eai'l, your husband, in a letter to his frieiKJ^ Mr. Alexander, at 
Paris, in substance as follows : — That he, the earl of Selkirk, had writ- 
ten an answer to the letter that I had the honour to write to your lady- 
ship in May, 1778, from Brest, respecting your plate ; which answer, 
after being detained for several months at London, in the general post- 
office, had been returned to Scotland. He, therefore, wished Mr. 
Alexander to inform the concerned, that if the plate was to be restored 
by Congress, or by any public body, it would be accepted, &.c. ; but 
if, through the generosity of an individual, his delicacy would scruple 
to receive it, &.c. 

" The true reason why I have not written to you since I received 
the above information, has been, because the plate is but now come 
into my possession from the public agents ; and I have, besides, been, 
for the greatest part of the time, absent from this kingdom. 

" I have now the satisfaction to inform you, that Congress has relin- 
quished their real or supposed interest in the plate, and, for my own 
part, I scorn to add to my fortune by such an acquisition. As for the 
part claimed by the few men who landed with me on St. Mary's Isle, 
it is of little consequence, and they are already satisfied. Thus you 
see, Madam, that the earl's objection is removed. 

" The plate is lodged here, in the hands of Messrs. Gourlade and 
Moylan, who hold it at your disposal, and will forward it agreeable to 



PAUL JONES. 



95 



pline, for which Jones was so stern and rigid an advocate. He 
is probably referred to as the wise officer, who objected to 
" burning poor people's houses." On the night when Jones 
made his second attempt to take the Drake while at anchor, he 
relates in his Journal for the king of France, that " the Lieu- 
tenant having held up to the crew, that being Americans, fight- 
ing for liberty, the voice of the people should be taken, before 
the Captain's orders were obeyed, they rose in mutiny ; and 
Captain Jones was in the utmost danger of being killed or 
thrown overboard." He adds that this danger was averted, 
by an accidental circumstance, — the capture of the Drake's 
boat ; upon which trifling success, the " voice of the people" was 
no longer against fighting. The contemptuous neglect of 



your orders, by land or by water, to Holland, Ostend, or any other port 
you think proper. 

" I shall be happy, by my conduct through life, to merit the good 
opinion of the Earl and Countess of Selkirk; for I am, with great 
esteem and profound respect, Madam, your ladyship's most obedient 
and most humble servant. 

" Paul Jones." 

" Paris, September 24<A, 1784. 
" To Captain Paul Jones, Paris. 

" Sir — M. the Count de Vergennes has delivered to me the letter 
which you had written to him, to ask his permission to transport by land 
from L'Orient to Calais, the plate of Jjady Selkirk, which you had per- 
mitted to be taken by your people during the last war, and which you 
afterward purchased to return to her ladyship. 

" That action, Sir, is worthy of the reputation which you acquired 
by your conduct, and proves that true valour perfectly agrees with 
humanity and generosity. 

" It gives me pleasure to concur in the execution of this honourable 
proceeding. 

" 1 have, therefore, given orders to the Farmers General to permit 
the transportation of the plate from L'Orient to Calais, free of duty, 
and you may write to your correspondent at L'Orient to deliver it to the 



96 PAUL JOXES. 

Jones' written instiuctions, and refusal to obey his signal, 
certainly authorized the measure of Simpson's arrest, had no 
other cause of offence been given. Had he obeyed orders, and 
not separated from the Ranger, while she was in chase of 
several large ships, other prizes would probably have been 
taken. It was by accident that Jones fell in with the Drake, 
and the intentions of his wandering lieutenant cannot be known. 
The manner in which he was suffered to act on his return to 
Brest, and finally allowed to return to America without having 
ever made a formal apology, was a source, among a thousand 
other mortifications, of just complaint on the part of the 
commander. 

Indeed, no more disagreeable task can well be imagined, 



director of the posts, who will take upon himself the care of having it 
transported to Calais, and to fulfil all the necessary formalities. 
" I have the honour to be, &c. 

•' De Calonne 



" Paris, November 8th, 1784. 



The Right Honourablk the 
Countess of Selkirk. 



" Madam — Since the moment when I found myself under the neces- 
sity to permit my men to demand and carry off your family plate, it 
has been my constant intention to restore it to you, and I wrote to you 
to that effect from Brest, the moment I had arrived there from my 
expedition in the Irish Sea. 

** By the letter which I had the honour to write to Lord Selkirk, the 
12th of February last, which will accompany this, I have explained the 
difficulties that prevented the plate from being restored until that time. 
I had expectation, all the last summer, that opportunities would have 
offered to send it by sea from L'Orient to London ; but being disap- 
pointed, I applied to government for leave to transport it through the 
kingdom by land, and the Duke of Dorset has been so obliging as to 
write to the custom-house at Dover, requesting them to let it pass to 
London, without being opened. It is now arrived here, and will be 
forwarded immediately to your sister in London, under the lead that has 



PAUL JONES. 97 

than to collect from the correspondence of Jones the great and 
petty vexations and series of disappointments to which he was 
subjected for many months after returning from this brilliant 
voyage. We shall endeavour to avoid what is superfluous in 
detail ; presenting enough to show the tedious and exasperating 
character of the difficulties with which he met, and the charac- 
teristic manner in which he remonstrated, endured, and per- 
severed. We are much mistaken if it will not appear, that in 
most cases where he was petulant, it was scarcely in human 
nature to be otherwise. It was not in that of Washington him- 
self; who, though no money had been supplied to them, often 
threw censure upon the contractors, when his army was suffer- 
ing around him. It will also appear, that when Jones made 



been affixed to the case that contains it, by the Fanners General at 
L'Orient, and the seal of the Duke of Dorset, that has been affixed to 
it here. The charges to London are paid, and I have directed it to be 
delivered at the house of your sister. 

" I could have wished to have ended this delicate business by deliv- 
ering the plate to you at St, Mary's Isle, in Scotland ; but I conform 
to the arrangement made between Lord Selkirk and Mr, Alexander, 
because I have no person in London whom I can charge with the trans- 
portation of the plate from thence. Enclosed is the inventory that I 
have just received from Mr. Nesbitt, from L'Orient, which I presume 
you will find to correspond with the one he sent last year to Lord Dare, 
and with the articles which you put into the hands of my men. 

"I am, Madam, with sentimentsof the highest respect, 
" Your Ladyship's most obedient 

" And most humble servant, 

" Paul Jones." 

" Paris, Febniary 12<A, 1784. 
" My Lord, 

" I have just received a letter from Mr. Nesbitt, dated at L'Orient 
the 4th instant, mentioning a letter to hirn from your son, Lord Dare, 
on the subject of the plate that was taken from your house by some of 

12 



98 PAUL JONES. 

unadvised charges, he was ready to retract them ; that he was 
willing to sacrifice his own interest altogether ; and to yield 
that of which he was most tenacious, rank and authority, rather 
than not be employed in rendering service to the cause in which 
he was engaged. 

Not only his services, but the political crisis at which they 
were rendered, entitled him to expect every encouragement and 
assistance, which either the American commissioners or the 
the court of France could render him. The former had been 
in fact acknowledged as Plenipotentiaries more than a month 
previous. Though no declaration of war between France and 
England had been solemnly published, war was inevitable, 
The French Ambassador had been ordered to leave London, 



my people when I commanded the Ranger, and has been for a long 
time past in Mr. Nesbitt's care. A short time before I left France to 
return to America, Mr. W. Alexander wrote me from Paris to L'Orient, 
that he had, at my request, seen and conversed with your Lordship in 
England respecting the plate. He said you had agreed that I should 
restore it, and that it might be forwarded to the care of your sister-in- 
law, the Countess of Morton, in London. In consequence, I now send 
orders to Mr. Nesbitt to forward the plate immediately to her care. 
When I received Mr. Alexander's letter, there was no cartel or other 
vessel at L'Orient, that I could trust with a charge of so delicate a na- 
ture as your plate, and I had great reason to expect I should return to 
France within six months after I embarked for America ; but circum- 
stances in America prevented my returning to Europe during the war, 
though I had constant expectation of it. The long delay that has hap- 
pened to the restoration of your plate has given me much concern, and 
I now feel a proportionate pleasure in fulfilling what was my first in- 
tention. My motive for landing at your estate in Scotland was to take 
you as a hostage for the lives and liberty of a number of the citizens 
of America, who had been taken in war on the ocean, and committed 
to British prisons, under an act of parliament, as traitors, pirates, and 
felons. You observed to ]\lr. Alexander, that ' my idea was a mista- 
ken one, because you were not (as I had supposed) in favour with the 



PAUL JONES. 99 

and several naval rencontres had in fact taken place ; forerun- 
ners of the celebrated one between the Arethusa and La Belle 
Poule. The squadron of D'Estaing was ready for sea. The 
news of the result of Jones' expedition was at such a moment 
gratifying and inspiring to the French court. He had praises 
and promises in profusion. But he found himself immediately 
under the pressure of painful embarrassments, which these could 
not remove. In the conclusion of his letter to the commis- 
sioners, on the 27th of May, he says : 

" Could I suppose that my letters of the 9th and 16th current, 
(the first advising you of my arrival, and giving reference to the 
events of my expedition ; the last advising you of my draft in 
favour of Monsieur Bersolle, for 24,000 livres, and assigning 



British ministry, who knew that you favoured the cause of liberty.'' 
On that account, I am glad that you were absent from your estate when 
I landed there, as I bore no personal enmity, but the contrary, towards 
you. I afterwards had the happiness to redeem my fellow-citizens 
from Britain, by means far more glorious than through the medium of 
any single hostage. 

" As I have endeavoured to serve the cause of hberty, through every 
stage of the American revolution, and sacrificed to it my private ease, 
a part of my fortune, and some of my blood, I could have no selfish 
motive in permitting my people to demand and cany off your plate. 
My sole inducement was to turn their attention and stop their rage 
from breaking out, and retaliating on your house and effects the too 
ivanton burnings and desolation that had been committed against their 
relations and fellow-citizens in America by the British ; of which, I 
assure you, you Avould have felt the severe consequences had I not fallen 
on an expedient to prevent it, and hurried my people away before they 
had time for further reflection. As you were so obliging as to say to 
Mr. Alexander, that ' my people behaved with great decency at your 
house,'' I ask the favour of you to announce that circumstance to the 
public. 1 am, ray lord, wishing ycu always perfect freedom and hap- 
piness, &.C. &c. 

"Paul Jones." 



100 PAUL JONES. 

reasons for that demand,) had not made due appearance, I 
would hereafter, as I do now, enclose copies. Three posts 
have already arrived here from Paris, since Compte d'Orvilliers 
showed me the answer which he received from the minister, to 
the letter which enclosed mine to you. Yet you remain silent. 
M. Bersolle has this moment informed me of the fate of my 
bills ; the more extraordinary, as I have not yet made use of 
your letter of credit of the 10th of January last, whereby I then 
seemed entitled to call for half the amount of my last draft, and 
I did not expect to be thought extravagant, when, on the 16th cur- 
rent I doubled that demand. Could this indignity be kept secret 
I should disregard it ; and, though it is already public in Brest, 
and in the fleet, as it affects only my private credit I will not 



" London, August 4th, 1789. 
" Monsieur le Chevai.ier Paul Jones, a Paris. 

" Sir, — I received the letter you wrote to me at the time you sent off 
my plate, in. order for restoring it. Had I known where to direct a 
letter to you, at the time it arrived in Scotland, I would then have 
wrote to you ; but not knowina: it, nor finding that any of my ac- 
quaintance at Edinburgh knew it, I was obliged to delay writing till I 
came here ; when, by means of a gentleman connected with America, 
I was told M. le Grand was your banker at Paris, and would take pro 
per care of a letter for you ; therefore, I enclose this to him. 

" Notwithstanding all the precautions you took for the easy and unin- 
terrupted conveyance of the plate, yet it met M'ith considerable dfelays: 
first at Calais, next at Dover, then at London ; however, it at last ar- 
rived at Dumfries, and I dare say quite safe, though as yet I have not 
seen it, being then at Edinburgh. 

" I intended to have put an article in the newspapers about your 
having returned it ; but before 1 was informed of its being arrived, 
some of your friends, I suppose, had put it in the Dumfries newspaper, 
whence it was immediately copied into the Eduiburgh papers, and thence 
into the London ones. Since that time, I have mentioned it to many 
people of fashion ; and, on all occasions. Sir, both now and formerly, 
I have done you the justice to tell, that you made an offer of returning 
the plate very soon after your return to Brest ; and, although you your- 



PAUL JONES. 101 

complain. I cannot, however, be silent, when I find the public 
credit involved in the same disgrace. I conceive this might 
have been prevented. To make me completely wretched, 
Monsieur Bersolle has told me that he now stops his hand, not 
only of the necessary articles to refit the ship, but also of the daily 
provisions. I know not where to find to-morrow's dinner for the 
great number of mouths that depend on me for food. Are then 
the continental ships of war to depend on the sale of their prizes 
for a daily dinner for their men ? ' Publish it not in Gath !' 

" My officers, as well as men, want clothes, and the prizes 
are precluded from being sold before father orders arrive from 
the minister. I will ask you, gentlemen, if I have deserved all 
this ? Whoever calls himself an American ought to be protected 



self was not at my house, but remained at the shore with your boat, 
that yet you had your officers and men in such extraordinary good dis- 
ciphne, that your having given them the strictest orders to behave well, 
to do no injuiy of any kind, to make no search, but oidy to bring off 
wliat plate was given them ; that in reahty they did exactly as order- 
ed, and that not one man offered to stir from his post on the outside 
of the house, nor entered the doors, nor said an uncivil word ; that the 
two officers staid not a quarter of an hour in the parlour and butler's 
pantry, while the butler got the plate together, behaved pohtely, and 
asked for nothing but the plate, and instantly marched their men off 
in regular order, and ihat both officers and men behaved in all respects 
so well, that it would have done credit to the best disciplined troops 
wliatever. ^ 

" Some of the English newspapers, at that time, having put in con- 
fused accounts of your expedition to Whitehaven and Scotland, I or- 
dered a proper one of what happened in Scotland to be put in the Lon- 
don newspapers, by a gentleman who was then at my house, by which 
the good conduct and civil behaviour of your officers and men was done 
justice to, and attributed to your order, and the good discipline you 
maintained over your people. 

" I am, Sir, your most humble servant, 

" Selkibk." 



102 PAUL JONES. 

here. I am unwilling to think that you have intentionally 
involved me in this sad dilemma, at a time when I ought to 
expect some enjoyment. Therefore I have, as formerly, the 
honour to be, with due esteem and respect, gentlemen, yours, dec." 
It is to observed that before Jones left America, as he 
mentions in a subsequent letter, he was more than j£1500 in 
advance for the public service,* exclusive of his own investment 
in fitting out the Ranger, and had never received any compen- 
sation. He was, however, left, such was the inability of the com- 
missioners to afford him relief, for more than a month, with 
" two hundred prisoners of war, a number of sick and wounded, 
and a ship, after a severe engagement, in want of stores and 
provisions," to depend upon his own resourcess. *' Yet," he 
says in his journal for the king, "during that time, by his per- 
sonal credit with Comit D'Orvilliers, the Duke de Chartres, and 
the Intendant of Brest, he fed his people and prisoners, cured 
his wounded, and refitted both the Ranger and Drake for sea." 
During the same period he had also to contend with the formal 
delays or personal cupidity of the prize agents, and to suppress 
the discontents among the crew, who vv^ere naturally impatient 
under privation and misery when they had looked for their 
wages and prize money. These discontents were further aggra- 
vated by Lieutenant Simpson, who,t " while under arrest on , 
board the Drake, had constant intercourse with the crew, who 
thereby became so insolent as to refuse duty, and go all hands 
below, repeatedly, before the Captain's face.* It was impossible 
to trifle at that time, as Count D'Orvilliq^s had assured Cap- 
tain Jones, that unless he could get the Drake ready to trans- 
port the prisoners to America before orders arrived from court, 
they would in all probability be given up without an exchange, 
to avoid immediate war with England.^ It therefore, became 



+ See Appendix No. VI. t Journal for the King of France, 

t A letter on this subject was addressed to M. de Sartine, on the 14th May, by the 
commissioners, immediately on the receiptof the news that Captain Jones had brought 
in 200 prisoners. They inquired the opinion of the minister as to what disposition 



PAUL JONES. 103 

impossible to suffer the lieutenant to remain any longer among 
them. Captain Jones had him removed to the ship called the 
Admiral, where the French confine even the first officers in the 
service. He had there a good chamber to himself, and liberty 
to walk the deck. The lieutenant endeavoured to desert out 
of the Admiral, and behaved so extravagant, that Count D'Or- 
villiers, without the knowledge of Captain Jones, ordered him 
to the prison of the port, where he also had a good chamber ; 
and Captain Jones paid his expenses out of his own pocket." 
What rendered the dishonour of his draft peculiarly vexatious, 
independent of the distress to which it exposed him, and the fact 
that in January preceding he had been furnished with a bill of 
credit on Jonathan Williams for five hundred louis d'ors, signed 
by the three commissioners, was the circumstance that he had, 
under the sanction of the Marine Committee, before leaving 
Portsmouth, made himself accountable to his crew for the regu- 
lar payment of their wages. Mr. Arthur Lee is charged with 
knowing this to be the case, and with not communicating it, 
when the bill was presented for payment. 

In the midst of all these trials of temper, as well as of forti- 
tude and patriotism, Jones was longing to be again employed in 
active service and in acquiring renown ; and was projecting high 
schemes for annoying the enemy. The friendly assistance of 
the Compte D'Orvilliers, commander-in-chief at Brest, and his 
chaplain. Father John, who seems to have rendered Jones many 
services, with the countenance of the Due de Chartres, and his 
reliance upon the good faith and practical wisdom of Franklin, 
contributed to alleviate his anxieties. The situation of the 
American Commissioners, at this timfe, (Messrs. Franklin, A. 
Lee, and Adams, Mr. Deane having been recalled) is well known. 
Their authority was limited, and the funds subject to their con- 
trol were still more so. On the 25th May, they wrote to Mr. 



would be made of the prisoners, France being yet nominally a neutral power. The 
letter will be found in Mr. Sparks' Diplomatic Correspondence, Vol. I. p. 392. 



104 PAUL JONES. 

Jonathan Williams, at Nantes, whom they had appointed com- 
mercial agent, as follows: "the necessities of our country de- 
mand the utmost frugality, which can never be obtained with- 
out the utmost simplicity in the management of her affairs ; and 
as Congress have authorized Mr. W. Lee to superintend the 
commercial affairs in general, and he has appointed Mr. 
Schweighauser, and as your authority is under the commis- 
sioners at Paris only, we think it prudent and necessary to re- 
voke, &c. all the powers and authorities heretofore granted to 
you, &c. to the end that hereafter the management of the affairs, 
commercial and maritime, of America, may be under one sole 
direction, that of Mr. Schweighauser, within his district." " We 
shall this day acquaint Captain Jones how far it is in our power 
to comply with his desires, and in what manner.* 

Such was the position in which Jones found himself, after 
his return to Brest. In citing such extracts from his corres- 
' pondence, as explain the multifarious difficulties and projects 
of this period, there seems to be but one mode of avoiding confu- 
sion, which is to preserve chronological order. His first object 
was to make provision for the seamen. In mentioning to the 
commissioners in his letter of May 16th, that he had drawn for 
the 24,000 livres, he says : "I mean to distribute it among the 
officers and crew, to whom I owe my late success. It is but 
reasonable that they should be furnished with the means of pro- 
curing little necessaries and comforts of life for themselves ; and 
the interests of the service, as well as the claims of humanity 
and justice, plead in behalf of their wives and helpless families, 
who are now unprovided in America, and will naturally expect 
a supply of clothing, &.c'. by the Drake." It is creditable to his 
humanity, that the next point which he pressed most earnestly 
upon the commissioners, was the propriety of treating the pri- 
soners with kindness and attention. He was altogether averse 
to releasing them, particularly the seamen, without an exchange. 



* Diplomatic Correspondence, I. 397. 



PAXIL JONES. 105 

In forwarding, afterwards, their memorial he says : " The fellow 
who holds the rod over their wretched heads, has menaced them, 
< if they dare to complain,' and would have intercepted their me- 
morial, had I not prevented it. This Riou is the scomidrel who, by 
his falsehood, promoted discord in the Ranger, and got the delu- 
ded people to appoint him their particular agent. Before that time 
he never could call twenty louis his own, and he is now too rich 
for his former profession of King's interpreter. He does not 
deny that he is a scoundrel, for so I have called him more than 
once before witnesses, and so every person of sense thinks him 
at Brest. If the exchange of prisoners does not take place im- 
mediately, I conceive it would be the most eligible method to 
have the people on board the Patience landed. They are con- 
vinced, that if you should think fit to return them an answer, it 
will never come to their hands through the means of any per- 
son who calls himself an agent at Brest, and they having full 
confidence in the honour and humanity of Father John, profes- 
sor of English, and chaplain to Compte D'Orvilliers at Brest, 
have desired me to inform you, that through that gentleman they 
beg you to favour them with an answer. In granting their re- 
quest you will confer a very singular obligation on me." 

On the 27th May, Franklin wrote to Jones as follows : "Dear 
Sir, I received your's of the 18th, inclosing one for the Coun- 
tess of Selkirk, which I forward this day, via Holland. It is a 
gallant letter, and must give her ladyship a high and just opinion 
of your gallantry and nobleness of mind. The dirty insinuation 
you mention, is of a piece with many others from the same 
quarter, the natural produce of base minds; who, feeling no 
other motive in their own breasts, but sordid self interest, 
imagine no other motive can exist in others, and therefore, it is 
to that alone, they ascribe the most praiseworthy actions.* 

" The Jersey privateers do us a great deal of mischief by 



* He refers to the misrepresentations of the English papers, mentfened in a letter 
of Jones already introduced. 

13 



106 PAXIL JONES. 

intercepting our supplies. It has been mentioned to me, that 
your small vessel, commanded by so brave an officer, might 
render great service, by following them where greater ships dare 
not venture their bottoms ; or, being accompanied and supported 
by some frigates from Brest, at a proper distance, might draw 
them out and then take them. I wish you to consider of this, as 
it comes from high authority, and that you would immediately 
think of it, and let me know when your ship will be ready. 
I have written to England about the exchange of your pri- 
soners. I congratulate you most cordially on your late suc- 
cess, and wish for a continuance and increase of the honour you 
have acquired." 

While the matter and manner of the beginning of this letter 
were well calculated to give Jones pleasure, his own phraseology 
being nearly echoed, it afforded no prospect of immediate relief. 
No mention is made of the draft ; and the service proposed was 
not of such a character as was particularly calculated to gratify 
the appetite of any ambitious commander, just flushed with suc- 
cess ; much less that of Jones, who would thus have been made 
subservient to the objects of others, who would reap the glory, 
while he was playing the humbler part of hunting out game for 
them. In his reply, however, he declares his readiness to com- 
ply, while he intimates very plainly his longing for more digni- 
fied employment. This is not unskilfully introduced. The let- 
ter, dated June 1st, is as follows. 

" His Excellency Benjamin Franklin- 

" Honoured and dear Sir — Accept my grateful thanks for 
your much esteemed favour of 27th ult. Such a mark of your 
good opinion and approbation, really aflbrds me the most heart- 
felt satisfaction. It shall always be my ambition to do my duty, 
as far as my judgment and small abilities enable me ; — but you 
will see by the within papers, that my roses are not without 
thorns ; and, perhaps, it will seem romance that I have suc- 
ceeded, which I am sure I should not have dpne, had I not been 
my own counsellor. 



PAUL JONES. 107 

" Nothing would give me more pleasure than to render essen- 
tial service?" to America, in any measure which you may find 
expedient. Should I be able to lead my present crew, it can 
be done only by the seldom failing bait for sordid minds, great 
views of interest. 

" If in bringing about the plan you propose, I may take the 
liberty to assure them of the protection of the French flag, in the 
channel, against enemies of superior force, with the free liberty 
to attack, and take under that sanction, such of the enemy's 
ships of war, or merchantmen, as may be met with, of equal or 
inferior force, perhaps I may succeed and gain them over by that 
means, nor will it be necessary to tell them our real object. 

" If I am not at liberty to give them such assurances, and their 
homesickness should continue, I could wish that such officers as 
may appear dangerously ill, might have liberty to lay down 
their commissions and warrants, and that others may be given 
to men of stronger nerves, who would be too proud to think 
themselves servants by the year. I believe many such may be 
found among American subjects in France. 

" If it should be consistent to order the Boston frigate here 
from Bourdeaux, perhaps such exchanges might be made, as 
would be for the interest and harmony of the service ; and we 
might perhaps be able to assemble a sufficient number of offi- 
cers to form a court. 

" The Due de Chartres has shown me sundry attentions, and 
expressed his inclination to facilitate my obtaining the ship built 
at Amsterdam. I believe I could easily obtain letters to the 
same effect, from the principal people here, but shall take no 
step without your approbation. If the prisoners should be ex- 
changed in Europe, I believe it would be possible to man that 
ship with Americans. I could have manned two such with 
French volunteers since I arrived. 

" The Ranger is crank, sails slow, and is of a triffing force. 
Most of the enemy's cruisers are more than a match, yet I mean 
not to complain. I demand nothing ; and although I know that 



108 PAUL JONES. 

it was the intention of Congress to give me that ship, I am now 
ready to go wherever the service calls me. 

"If two or three fast sailing ships could be collected, there is 
a great choice of private enterprises, some of which might suc- 
ceed, and add more to the interest and honour of America, than 
cruising with twice the force. It appears to me to be the pro- 
vince of our infant navy to surprise, and spread alarms with fast 
sailing ships. When we grow stronger, we can meet their 
fleets, and dispute with them the sovereignty of the ocean. 
These are my private sentiments, and are therefore submitted 
with the utmost diffidence to your superior understanding. 

" Both the Ranger and the Drake were so much disabled, 
that they needed to be entirely new rigged. We, however, made 
shift from the wreck of both ships, to rig the Drake, which is 
now completed. The Ranger's late rigging was twice laid and 
much too thick and heavy. The refitting her shall be continued 
with unremitting application." He thus complains of the deten- 
tion ofthe captors' part of one of the Ranger's prizes by Mr. Delap, 
a nominal sub-prize agent, and of the sacrifice of another prize at 
Nantes. Half the proceeds of the latter was all the prize money 
yet received. In a postscript he says : " The written papers I 
send you in confidence ; leaving it to you to show them or not 
to such persons as you may think proper." 

These inclosures contained plans for various expeditions. 
" Three very fast sailing frigates, with one or two tenders, might 
enter the Irish channel and burn at Whitehaven from two to 
three hundred ships, besides the town, whi(;h contains 50,000 
inhabitants ; this would render it difficult, if not impossible to 
supply Ireland with coal the ensuing winter. 

" The same force would be sufficient to take the bank of Ayr 
in Scotland, and to destroy the town : or perhaps, the whole 
shipping in the Clyde, with the towns and stores of Greenock 
and Port Glasgow, provided no alarm was first given at other 
{A aces. The fishery at Cambletown is an object worthy at- 
teiion, and in some of the ports of Ireland, ships may perhaps 
be i bund worth from 150,000 to 200,000 livres each." 



PAUL JONES. 109 

As the preparations for these enterprises would require time, 
he suggested that immediately, with an inferior force, the east 
and north coasts of England and Scotland might be alarmed, 
several towns burned or laid under contribution, and the coal 
shipping of Newcastle destroyed. If these plans should be 
thought inexpedient, the enemy's West India or Baltic fleets, or 
Hudson Bay ships might be intercepted, or the Greenland fish- 
ery destroyed ; all of which, he says, "were capital objects." 

If none of these projects were very magnificent, Jones would 
have had the sole conduct of them ; and he felt himself able to 
effect them with a comparatively small force ; on which account 
he must have preferred the least brilliant, to acting in the sub- 
ordinate capacity proposed to him. 

The letter addressed by the commissioners to Jones, on the 
25th of May, referred to in their letter to Mr. Jonathan Williams, 
of the same date, is not among any of the published documents 
or manuscripts before the compiler. In it, according to their 
letter to Mr. Williams, they " acquainted Captain Jones how 
far it was in their power to comply with his desires, and in what 
manner." He thus wrote in reply, on the 3d June. 

" Gentlemen, 

" Your letter of the 25th ult. I received by yesterday's post. 
I frankly ask your pardon for the undue liberty I took the 
16th ult. when I ventured to sign a draft upon you for the 
purpose of supplying the people under my command with 
necessary clothing, <fec. ; and I promise you never to be guilty 
of the like oflTence again. I hope you do not, however, mean to 
impute to me a desire to receive ' presents of the public money ;' 
or even to touch a dollar of it, for any private purpose of my 
own. On the contrary, I need not now assert, that 1 stepped 
forth at the beginning, from nobler motives. My accounts, 
before I left America, testify that I am more than fifteen 
hundred pounds in advance for the public service, exclusive of 
any concern with the Ranger ; and as for wages, I never received 
any. Had I not previously determined to keep the prisoners 



110 PAUL JONES. 

here, they would have been sent away in the Drake, long before 
now. My embarrassed situation will, in the eyes of candour, 
apologize for my not sending you a more early information of 
the particulars of my cruise, and of the prizes which I have 
made. On my passage from America I took two brigantines, 
both from Malaga for England. The one arrived safe at 
Nantes ; and being sold by Messrs. Morris and Williams,, the 
captors' part was paid to them. The other arrived at Bour- 
deaux, and was, I understand, sold by Mr. J. H. Delap, who, 
though he had my orders to remit the captors' part immediately, 
into the hands of Mr. Williams of Nantes, yet still retains it in 
his own hands. On my late expedition, three prizes were sunk. 
The ship Lord Chatham was sent here (to Brest) to remain 
under the care of the Intendant. She now remains in the port, 
locked and nailed up under a guard. The ship of war Drake, 
with her stores on board, and the brigantine Patience in ballast, 
are with the Ranger at anchor in the Road. M. de Sartine 
can inform you that the sales of the prizes are precluded, until 
he sends further orders here. Had it been otherwise, 1 cannot 
see how you could suppose that I had created agents to dispose 
of the public property. And yet if I had done this, perhaps my 
public wants would justify me. 

" The rules whereby Congress have been pleased to command 
me to regulate my conduct in the navy, authorize me to issue 
my warrant to the agent, «fe.c. and I humbly conceive that it is 
his province to furnish me with an estimate of the amount of 
expenses. If you wish for an estimate from me, unacquainted 
as I am with prizes, besides the delay, it may be very far from 
exact. 

" When you determined to change the continental agent, I 
could wish you had sent that information in a letter to meet 
me here on my arrival, as I had advised you of my intention 
to return to Brest. All disagreeable altercation might then 
have been avoided. My situation is not now mended by your 
last, the gentleman you mention being at Nantes, and no person 
appearing in his behalf at Brest. 



PAUL JONES. Ill 

" A space of sixteen months is now elapsed, since Congress 
thought of me, and placed under my command seven times my 
present force, leaving me at full liberty, how, and where to apply 
it. And if I am not now capable of supporting the internal 
government of a single sloop of war, I wish that some person 
more deserving had my place, and I in America to answer for 
my misconduct. I have ' well considered,' and yet I shall 
persist in justifying the steps I have taken, and to which you 
allude. * * 

" If you are in possession of any resolution of Congress, which 
will authorize me to send Lieutenant Simpson to America, &c. 
I should be obliged to you for a copy of it." 

The change of commercial agents seems to have been 
peculiarly disagreeable to Jones, on several accounts. He paid 
no attention to two letters from Mr. Schweighauser, at Nantes, 
(who liad been appointed agent within a certain district by Mr. 
W. Lee,) until he had been officially directed to recognise him 
by the commissioners. He then wrote to him as follows, 
obviously under an irritation of feeling. 

" Brest, 4th June, 1778. 
" Sir — Your letter of the 12th ult. duly appeared ; but as the 
purport of it seemed rather to intimate your desire to sell my 
'prizes at a distance, than to manifest your inclination to furnish 
the daily supplies of provisions for my people and prisoners, and 
the stores and provision of every kind, necessary to refit the 
continental ship Ranger, after an obstinate engagement, I 
thought it required no answer ; especially as I had no letter 
from the commissioners on the subject ; and had the commis- 
sioners still remained silent, neither could I have given a 
satisfactory answer to your last of 31st ult. which has this 
moment come to my hand. That letter. Sir, seems in the 
same strain with the former ; but some part of it, I freely 
confess, is above my language or comprehension, when you 
express yourself thus : ' That I may take the necessary 



112 PAUL JONES. 

measures to assure us the propriety of these captures.'* As I 
am not charged with having infringed the laws of government, 
I think your postscript might have been spared. 

" In a word, if you consider yourself the agent or instrument 
for victualling and repairing the ships of war of the American 
navy, as I came here in distress the 8th ult. in want of provisions, 
with a number of wounded men and prisoners, you have not 
done your duty ; as you have not, to this hour, given or offered 
me any assistance ; whereby you have occasioned a loss of 
money and time to the United States. It was your duty to have 
appeared on the spot, and to have ministered to our wants. If, 
on the contrary, as I rather think, you consider yourself only 
as the instrument for selling the continental part of prizes, yet 
in this case, too, you have not done your duty. It was your duty 
. to have appeared at Brest, to have taken care of the public 
property, and to have brought on the sales ; whereas Sbme of 
it may now be perishing, through your absence and neglect. I 
have been thus explicit, that you may not henceforth misunder- 
stand me ; and that, so far as we may be connected, we may 
henceforth co-operate for the public good of the American 
United States." 

On the 1st of June, the same day on which Jones had written 
to Franklin, in reply to a letter suggesting enterprises of an 
humbler character, that real friend of his, who best understood 
his genius and his temperament, communicated to him intelli- 
gence calculated to awaken higher hopes, and to console him 
for all his mortifications. His pride was gratified, and he was 
at liberty to indulge in dreams of glory. This was all ; for he 



* As we cannot suppose that Jones would have condescended to a 
vulgar sneer, it is obvious that he was too much vexed to perceive that 
M. Schweighauser, who thought in one language, while writing in an- 
other, and whose letters in Enghsh are curiously inaccurate, meant to 
use the harmless word property, instead of that which gave so much 
offence. 



PAUL JONES. 113 

was destined to endure a new and long series of disappointments. 
The letter of Franklin was as follows : 

(private.) 

" Dear Sir, 

" I have the pleasure of informing you, that it is proposed to 
give you the command of the great ship we have built at Am- 
sterdam. By what you wrote to us formerly, I have ventured 
to say in your behalf, that this proposition would be agreeable to 
you. You will immediately let me know your resolution ; which, 
that you may be more clear in taking, I must inform you of 
some circumstances. She is at present the property of the 
king ; but as there is no war yet declared, you will have the 
commission and flag of the States, and act under their orders 
and laws. The Prince de Nassau vvdll make the cruise ^vith 
you. She is to be brought here under cover as a French 
merchantman, to be equipped and manned in France. We 
hope to exchange your prisoners for as many American sailors ; 
but if that fails, you have your present crew to be made up here 
with other nations and French. The other commissioners are 
not acquainted with this proposition as yet ; and you see by the 
nature of it, that is necessary to be kept a secret till we have 
got the vessel here, for fear of difficulties in Holland, and 
interception ; you will therefore direct your answer to me alone. 
It being desired that the affair should rest between you and me, 
perhaps it may be best for you to take a trip up here to concert 
matters, if in general you approve the idea. 

" I was much pleased with reading your journal, which we 
received yesterday." 

Jones wrote in reply, on the 6th, as follows? : " Your much 
esteemed favour lays me under a most singular obligation. I 
cannot but be deeply sensible of the honour conferred upon me 
by the proposition ; and I really think it affisrds a very fair 
prospect of success. In a few days, the return of a letter from 
Mr. Schweighauser will, I hope, enable me to leave affairs here, 
so as to attend you at Paris. I shall be happy in all opportu- 

14 



114 PAUL JONES. 

nities to prove, by my conduct, how much I wish to merit your 
confidence, and that of the Prince." 

On the 10th June, Frankhn again wrote to Jones, confirming 
his expectations of receiving the promised command. 

Passy, June 10th, 1778. 
" Dear Sir, 

" I received your's of 1st instant, with the papers enclosed, 
which I have shown to the other commissioners, but have not 
yet had their opinion of them ; only I know that they had before 
(in consideration of the disposition and uneasiness of your 
people) expressed an inclination to order your ship directly back 
to America. You will judge from what follows, whether it will 
not be advisable /or yoM to propose their sending her back with 
her people, and under some other command. In consequence of 
the high opinion the Minister of the Marine has of your conduct 
and bravery, it is now settled (observe, that is to be a secret 
between us, I being expressly enjoined not to communicate it 
to any other person,) that you are to have the frigate from 
Holland, which actually belongs to government, and will be 
furnished with as many good French seamen as you shall 
require. But you are to act under Congress commission. As 
you may like to have a number of Americans, and your own 
are home-sick, it is proposed to give you as many as you can 
engage out of two hundred prisoners, which the ministry of 
Britain have at length agreed to give us in exchange for those 
you have in your hands. They propose to make the exchange 
at Calais, where they are to bring the Americans. Nothing is 
wanting to this but a list of yours, containing their names and 
rank ; immediately on the receipt of which an equal number 
are to be prepared, and sent in a ship at that port, where 
your's are to meet them. 

"If by this means you can get a good new crew, I think it 
would be best that you are quite free of the old ; for a mixture 
might introduce the infection of that sickness you complain of. 
But this may be left to your own discretion. Perhaps we shall 



PAUL JONES. 115 

join you with the Providence, Captain Whipple, a new conti- 
nental ship of 30 guns, which, in coming out of the river of 
Providence, gave the two frigates that were posted to intercept 
her each of them so heavy a dose of her 18 and 12 pounders, 
that they had not the courage, or were net able, to pursue her. 
It seems to be desired that you will step up to Versailles, (where 
one will meet you,) in order to such a settlement of matters and 
plans with those who have the direction as cannot well be done 
by letter. I wish it may be convenient to you to do it imme- 
diately. 

" The project of giving you the command of this ship pleases 
me the more, as it is a probable opening to the higher prefer- 
ment you so justly merit." 

It will be observed that this negotiation of Franklin with the 
French ministry, was unknown to Messrs. Lee and Adams. It 
seems, too, not to have been communicated to them before the 
16th, that Jones was to have command of the frigate at Amster- 
dam ; as we find a letter from them addressed to him on that 
day,* signed by all the commissioners, directing him to make 
preparations for a voyage to America with all despatch, in the 
ship then under his command, containing various instructions, 
formal, and in the nature of suggestions, and advising him to keep 
his destination secret. It could not have been intended by Franklin 
and Sartine, that he should return in the Ranger, as the subse- 
quent correspondence will show. Jones stood likewise too high 
in importance, to be despatched home in that vessel. He had 
previously been in direct correspondence with M. De Sartine. 
On the 31st March previous, he had written to him from Brest, 
enclosing a copy of the letter from the secret committee of 
Congress, with other documents ; acknowledging the attentions 
and favours he had received from Admiral Compte D'Orvilliers, 
M. De la Porte, M. la Motte Picquet, and every other officer of 
distinction in the port ; and adverting to a project of his, com- 



Diplomatic Correspondence, I. 398. 



116 PAUL JONES. 

municated to the minister through the admiral, the nature of 
which he does not specify. There can be no doubt that the 
minister wished to secure the services of Jones, and to retain 
him in readiness to execute whatever enterprise events might 
indicate as best suited to his daring spirit and practical skill. 
His late successes had made an impression which had a specific 
value ; and the off'er of the Prince of Nassau to serve under 
him,- is a sufficient proof of the estimation in which he was held 
at Court. Under the then existing circumstances, it would 
have been a loss to send him to America, with a small force, 
merely as a bearer of despatches, with the precarious chance of 
making a few stray prizes, or striking unimportant blows. Yet, 
notwithstanding that after the withdrawal of the ambassadors, 
the nations felt that hostilities must ensue, political considera- 
tions withheld either from being the first to acknowledge its 
belligerent attitude. The affair on the 17th June, between the 
Belle Poule and the Arethusa, and the capture on the same and 
the following day, by the English, of the Licorne and Pallas 
frigates, in which each party charged the other of being the 
aggressor, brought matters nearer to a crisis. The engagements 
between the fleets under Keppel and D'Orvilliers followed, and 
it soon became no longer necessary to moot questions of national 
law, as to the disposition of prisoners brought into French 
ports by American cruisers.* 



* On accidentally looking for a date into the newspaper historian Bissett, whose com- 
pilation our wise booksellers, for lack of a better, bind up with Hume and Smollet, 
I find an amusing notice of Jones and his adventures. " The American privateers,^' 
says this plunderer of old gazettes, " trusting to the alliance with France, came this 
year to the coast of Europe, and committed various depredations. The most daring 
commander of these ships, was the noted adventurer Paul Jones. This person had been 
gardener to the Earl of Selkirk, at a seat near Kircudbright, on the southwest coast of Scot- 
land. Leaving his employment abruptly, on account of some umbrage which he had con- 
ceived against the family, he had betaken himself to sea ; and by professional skill, 
together with intrepid boldness, arrived at the appointment which he then held. 
Directing his efforts against the coasts with which he was best acquainted, he landed 
at Whitehaven in Cumberland, and set fire to a ship in the harbour, with the intention 
of burning the town ; but was driven away by the inhabitants. From thence he proceeded 



PAUL JONES. 117 

Previoiiis to leaving Brest for Versailles, Jones says in his 
Journal for the king, that " finding the lieutenant appeared 
more reasonable than formerly, he took his parole in writing, 
not to serve again in the navy before he was acquitted by a 
court-martial, and set him at liberty. A day or two afterwards, 
the commissioners thought fit to interfere respecting the lieu- 
tenant of the Ranger, vi^hich, it is presumed, they had no 
authority to do, as it laid the axe to the root of subordination." 

He proceeds to say, that *' having the prisoners still under 
his care, the prizes being unsold, and the crew naked. Captain 
Jones, having completely refitted the Ranger, had no immediate 
business at Brest ; and therefore went privately up to Versailles, 
on the invitation of the Court." On the 16th June, he addressed 
the following letter to the commissioners, from Passy. 

" Gentlemen, 

" At the time when I took Lieutenant Simpson's parole, I 
did not expect to have been so long absent from America ; but 
as circumstances have now rendered the time of my return less 
certain, I am willing to let the dispute between us drop for ever, 
by giving up that parole, which will entitle him to command the 
Ranger. I have no malice, and if I have done him any injury, 
this will be making him all the present satisfaction in my power. 
If on the contrary, he has injured me, I will trust to himself for 
an acknowledgment." 

On the 29th Jones wrote to the commanding officers of the 
Ranger, informing them that he had obtained permission from 
the French ministry, to dispose of the prizes to the best advan- 
tage, without their being subject to any expense in the admiralty 
courts, and had made other arrangements for the advantage of 



over Solway Frith, to the seat of Lord Selkirk, and pillaged the house of all the plate, 
jewels, and other valuable effects, !fc." The veracious historian says nothing of the 
capture of the Drake, as a matter of course. Candour, however, must confess that 
there are fewer mistatements in the foregoing paragraph, than in many others of equal 
length, which might be selected from the same work. 



118 PAUL JOJVES. 

the captors. " It shall be iny care to get the prisoners ex- 
changed as soon as possible, to realize our prizes, and to obtain 
leave to return on a cruise to America. All this I believe I 
shall very soon be able to eii'ect, and therefore you may publish 
it in the ship, for the general happiness and satisfaction. 
There will, I am persuaded, be nothing to interfere with our 
proceeding to America, unless the Ranger should be previously 
employed as a cartel, in the approaching exchange of prisoners. 
This may or may not happen ; and as it will be a work of little 
time, and of no danger, it cannot but be agreeable to the feel- 
ings of humanity. It might, I think, be accomplished, before 
the prizes can be realized. I only wait here for the list of the 
prisoners which I wrote for some time ago, and which I hope 
will be very exact." He then gives instructions as to details, 
and among others, requests that certain articles, including the 
plate, should be carefully stored and reserved, until his return 
to Brest. 

On the 4th of July, he wrote to the commissioners as follows : 

" Gentlemen, 

" When Congress thought proper to order me to France, it 
was proposed that the Ranger should remain under my direction, 
and be commanded by a lieutenant. And as the French 
ministry have noAV in contemplation plans which promise honour 
to the American flag, the Ranger might be very useful to assist 
in carrying them into execii.tion. Lieutenant Simpson has 
certainly behaved amiss ; yet I can forgive, as well as resent ; 
and upon his making a proper concession, I will, with your 
approbation, not only forgive the past, but leave him the com- 
mand of the Ranger. By this means, and by some little pro- 
motions and attentions, that may be consistent, I hope to be 
able to satisfy the Ranger's crew, so that they will postpone 
their return as long as the service may require." 

Whatever may have been the private conferences between 
Franklin and the French minister, the object which the com- 
missioners had in view in common, was plainly to pacify the 



PAUL JONES. 119 

crew of the Ranger, to retain as many of her able seamen as 
were willing to serve, and to send her home after the exchange 
of prisoners. On the 16th June, Franklin had written to Mr. 
David Hartley, in consequence of advices from him that the 
British ministry had agreed to an exchange of prisoners, pro- 
posing the manner of effecting it, and offering the solemn 
engagement of the commissioners, that if the British govern- 
ment would give up all their prisoners at once, a number of 
British sailors equal to the surplus should be delivered to Lord 
Howe in America, or to his order, as soon as the agreement 
should arrive there* These arrangements would naturally 
occupy some little time ; and meanwhile the crew of the Ran- 
ger were, as Jones says, " naked," and discontented. 

The very event which arrayed the fleets of France and Eng- 
land against each other, deprived Jones of the command of the 
" great ship" at Amsterdam. He says in his Journal for the 
king : " the action of the Belle Poule, which began the war be- 
tween France and England, deranged the plan in contemplation, 
and greatly interfered with the views of court respecting Cap- 
tain Jones. It was understood the States of Holland made great 
difficulty, respecting the Indien, that still remained at Amster- 
dam. Captain Jones offered to give up the project, and return 
to the Ranger. To prevent this, the minister wrote a letter to 
the commissioners, requesting their permission for Captain 
Jones to remain for a time in Europe, where he would be 
honourably employed to promote the common cause." 

The embryo schemes agitated between Jones, Franklin, and 
the Minister, whatever they may have been, were abandoned, 
as well as the command of the Indien. In reply to the request 
of the latter, above alluded to, the commissioners acquiesced, in 
the following terms. " We readily consent that he should be at 
your excellency's disposition ; and shall be happy if his services 
may be in any respect useful to the designs your excellency may 
have in contemplation." 

* Diplomatic Correspondence, I. 400. 



120 PAUL JONES. 

On the 17th July, a few days after, Jones wrote himself, to 
make his acknowledgements to the minister. He speaks of his 
return in the Ranger as a thing- in immediate contemplation. 
It is obvious that he desired to quicken the movements of the 
minister, and to induce him to jDrevent his departure by confer- 
ring a real appointment, in lieu of holding out shadowy and 
changeful promises. 

" Passy, July 17th, 1778. 
" M. De Sartre, 

. " My Lord — I should be ungrateful did I not return my thanks 
for your kind and generous intentions in my favour. My great- 
est ambition would be to merit your future approbation, by my 
services against the common enemy of France and America. 
Had your first plan taken effect, the most pleasing prospect of 
success would have been before me. But that now seems a 
distant object. 

"I have no doubt, that many projects might be formed from 
the hints which I had the honour of sending lately for your in- 
spection : had I been intrusted with the chief command, I would 
have held myself responsible for consequences. 

" I am bound in honour to communicate faithfully to Con- 
gress the generous offer which the King now makes, of lending 
the Epervier in the meantime to be employed under my com- 
mand, under the flag of America. I would thankfully have 
accepted this offer, the moment it was communicated to me, 
had no difficulties occurred on account of the situation of the 
American funds. I have now under my command a ship bound 
to America. On my arrival there, from the former confidence 
of Congress, I have reason to expect an immediate removal into 
one of their best ships. I have reason to expect the chief com- 
mand of the first squadron destined for an expedition, having 
in my possession several similar appointments ; and when Con- 
gress see fit to appoint adn.lrals, I have assurance that my name 
will not be forgot. These are flattering prospects to a man 
who has drawn his sword only upon principles of philanthropy. 



PAUL JONES. 121 

and in support of the dignity of human nature. But as I prefer 
a sohd to a shining reputation, a useful to a splendid command, 
I hold myself ready, with the approbation of the commissioners, 
to be governed by you in any measures that may tend to dis- 
tress and humble the common enemy." 

The offer of the Epervier, for the reasons assigned by Jones, 
was little more than a compliment. The ratifications of the 
treaties between the United States and France, were exchanged 
on the same day on which the foregoing letter was written. 
War had not even yet been formally declared, but had in fact 
begun at sea, with large preparations on both sides. A violent 
impress had been made in England among the crews of mer- 
chantmen, and France required all her own seamen. The 
commissioners, or more properly, the plenipotentiaries, found 
great difficulty in procuring loans, even in small amounts, and 
were apprehensive that they would not be able to meet the drafts 
of Congress for the interest of certificates. In their letter to the 
President of Congress, communicating this intelligence, they 
mentioned that the only two commercial agents in France, were 
Mr. John Bonfield of Bordeaux, and Mr. J. D. Schweighauser at 
Nantes, both appointed by Mr. William Lee ; and recommended 
the appointment of consuls.* 

Negotiations on various points, growing out of the treaties, 
the intimation that England would recognise the independence 
of America, provided the latter would make a separate peace, 
and the immediate necessity of procuring funds, at this time fully 
occupied the attention of the commissioners. M. de Sartine 
entertained one of the numerous projects which Jones had sub- 
mitted to him, either to appease his impatience, or with the 
real intention of carrying it into execution. This was the 
capture or destruction of the Baltic fleet. He says, in his 
Journal for the king of France, " for this object three frigates 
and two cutters were destined ; and Captain Jones appointed to 
command the whole. One of the frigates lay at Brest, which 

* Diplomatic Correspondence, I. 407. 

15 



122 PAUL JONES. 

he was to command in person, and join the other two, and the 
cutter at St. Maio. Two days before Captain Jones returned 
to Brest, Count D'Orvilliers having returned from his first 
cruise and the battle of Ushant, had given the command of the 
frigate in question to a French officer. The Minister of the 
Marine, finding many difficulties he had not foreseen, from 
the cabals of French officers for commands, sent orders for 
the frigates and cutters to proceed from St. Malo, under the 
command of the senior captain, against the Baltic fleet. That 
force sailed round the east of England, north of Scotland, and 
west of Ireland, without having succeeded." 

So confident was he that he would be employed in this expe- 
dition, that he made inquiries for a chaplain. The qualifica- 
tions he desired to find in such an officer, he thus mentions in 
writing to a friend : "I should wish him to be a man of read- 
ing and letters, who understands, speaks, and writes the French 
and English with elegance and propriety. For political reasons, 
it would be well if he were a clergyman of the Protestant 
profession, whose sanctity of manners, and happy natural prin- 
ciples would diffuse unanimity and cheerfulness through the 
ship ; and if to these essentials were added the talent of writing 
fast, and in fair characters, such a man would necessarily be 
worthy the highest confidence, and might, therefore, assure him- 
self of a place at my table, the regulations whereof shoifld be 
entirely under his direction." On the 6th August, he also wrote 
to General Washington informing him of his reasons for con- 
tinuing in service in Europe, and begging his acceptance of two 
epaulettes, which he had expected to deliver himself, and which 
Mr. Williams had undertaken to forward.* 

On the 10th August, Jones left Passy for Brest, in the anti- 
cipation of receiving this command, and was disappointed in the 



I find these letters, in the life published by Murray in 1825. 



PAUL JONES. 123 

manner he has mentioned. It may readily be supposed, that 
he was not in the best possible humour to brook what he con- 
ceived to be a downright indignity offered to himself. Yet such 
he had to encounter. It will be recollected that on the 16th 
June, he had offered to give up the parole of Lieutenant Simp- 
son, and on the 4th July, had consented to let him take com- 
mand of the ship. The lieutenant was not backward in ac- 
cepting these concessions, and it appears he went much farther. 
Jones says, *' he took command of the Ranger, without accepting 
the captain's proposal, or having his parole given up. On the 
contrary, it seemed afterwards he rather gave out that Captain 
Jones had been called to account by the commissioners, and 
turned out to make way for him !" He wrote to the commission- 
ers on this subject, in these terms. 

" Brest, August 15th, 1778. 
*' Gentlemen, 

"I have been five days in this place since my return from 
Passy, during which time I have neither seen nor heard from 
Lieutenant Simpson ; but Mr. Hill, who was last winter at Passy, 
and who sailed with me from Nantes, informs me truly, that it 
is generally reported in the Ranger, and of course throughout 
the French fleet, and on shore, that I am turned out of the ser- 
vice ; that you, gentlemen, have given Mr. Simpson my place, 
with a captain's commission, and that my letter to you of the 
16th July was involuntary on my part, and in obedience only to 
your orders. 

" That these reports prevail, is not an idle conjecture, but a 
melancholy fact. Therefore I beseech you ; I demand of you 
to afford me redress — redress by a court martial ; to form which 
we have now, with the assistance of Captain Hinman, Captain 
Read, as also them at Nantes, a sufficient number of officers in 
France, exclusive of myself. The Providence and Britain are 
expected here very soon from Nantes, and I am certain that 
they neither can nor will again depart, before my friend Cap- 
tain Hinman can come down here; and it is his unquestioned 
right to succeed me in the Ranger. 



124 PAUL JONES. 

*' I have faithfully and personally supported and fought the 
dignified cause of human nature, ever since the American ban- 
ners first waved on the Delaware and on the ocean. This I 
did when that man did not call himself a republican, but left 
the continent, and served its enemies ; and this I did when this 
man appeared backward, and did not support me as he ought. 

" I conclude by requesting you to call before you, and examine 
for your own satisfaction, Mr. Edward Meyers, who is now 
at the house of the Swedish Ambassador, and who, having been 
with me as a volunteer, can and will, I am persuaded, represent 
to you the conduct of the ofiicers and men towards me, both 
before I left Brest, and afterwards in the Irish channel, as well 
as my conduct towards them. — I have the honour to be, Soc, &c 

" Their Excellencies the American Plenipotentiaries." 

On the 18tli August, he wrote to Captain Abraham Whipple, 
then at Brest, requesting that a court martial might be sum- 
moned for the trial of Simpson ; and the commissioners gave 
directions to the same effect, provided there was a sufficient 
mimber of officers to constitute one. At the same time they 
directed that no change should take place in the command of 
the Ranger, until the trial should be over, nor then, should the 
lieutenant be acquitted. Captain Whipple in a letter to Jones, 
explained the impossibility of calling a court, as Captain Hin- 
man, who expected a court of inquiry into his own conduct, on 
his return to America, declined sitting. He also added that in 
his opinion Jones had given up the parole of Simpson, in the 
most ample manner, without asking for concessions, and that 
the commissioners understood it in the same light.* The un- 
impassioned reader will probably coincide in opinion with Cap- 
tain Whipple. But under the pressure of so many disappoint- 
ments, and finding himself without any ship at all, the reports 
which fell upon the ear of Jones as to the lieutenant's misstate- 
ments of what had been magnanimity on his part, would have 

* Diplomatic Correspondence, I. 400. 



PAUL JONES. 125 

Stung to anger one of a far less hasty temper. The seemingly 
insulting triumph of Simpson was neither quietly to be endured, 
nor soon forgotten. 

It did not enter into Jones' sense of what was due to his rank 
and self respect, to seek satisfaction to the injury of the service, 
from one whom he conceived he had laid under unmerited obli- 
gations. Lieutenant Simpson sailed in the Ranger for America. 
On the 30th August, the Captain's friend Mr. Williams, writing 
to him from Nantes in relation to the pending sale of the Drake, 
said: " I am sorry your affair with Lieutenant Simpson was 
not settled with mutual satisfaction. If he was not gone, I 
should answer his charge of falsehood with the following para- 
graph of his own letter to me, of the 1st August, to mine, which 
you say he calls false, viz : ' I recollect my telling you when at 
Brest, that if Captain Jones had condescended to have made 
any inquiry, or permitted me to speak to him on the matter of 
my confinement, I was ready to give him any satisfaction con- 
sonant to truth.' It is strange he should recollect this when he 
wrote me the letter, and forget it again when he told Mr. Hill 
it was false. Lieutenant Simpson's letter to me is in very re- 
spectful terms, and I wrote him a letter of thanks in return. 
He desired me in it to present his respects to you, and to tell 
you that ' your recommendation to the commissioners, which I 
mentioned, would, with any services you had done him, be ever 
remembered with gratitude. This gave me great pleasure, 
&:.c.' " The Providence, Boston, and Ranger, arrived safe in 
America, having taking two or three merchant vessels. Lieu- 
tenant Simpson was not afterwards employed in the continental 
service. In February following, the commissioners addressed 
a letter to Jones, stating, that as his separation from the Ranger, 
and the appointment of Lieutenant Simpson to the command 
of her would be liable to misinterpretations, they certified that 
his leaving her was by their consent, at the express request of 
M. de Sartine, who informed them that he had occasion to 
employ Jones in some public service ; that Simpson was 
appointed to the command by the consent of Jones, who had 



126 PAUL JONES. 

released him from the arrest he had placed him under ; that 
Jones' rank in the navy was not prejudiced by his leaving the 
Ranger ; and that his commission remained in full force. It 
seemed proper, having given the letters of Jones on this subject, 
to lay the whole statement before the reader, who, we fear will 
have found it rather tedious. 

We should not have omitted to mention, that as it was one 
of the first, so it was one of the constant subjects of application 
to the commissioners by Jones, to procure from them a strong 
recommendation to Congress on behalf of the men who served 
under him in the Ranger, and of those in particular who landed 
with him at Whitehaven. On the day he left Passy, they 
addressed a letter to him, informing him that they had complied 
with his request. 

While waiting for the minister to fulfil his promises, Jones 
asked for and obtained, but too late, orders to Count D'Orvilliers 
to receive him on board of the Bretagne. The fleet had left 
the harbour of Brest, while he was at L' Orient on a fruitless 
errand. In his letter to Franklin, dated August 24th, in which 
he urges this request, he says : " I wish not to be thought too 
impatient, but you know, my dear sir, that this is the nice 
moment, when I ought either to be in search of marine 
knowledge with Count D'Orvilliers, or in search of honour, in 
attempting some private enterprise. Before I was at liberty to 
go, the good old Count pressed me much to accompany him ; 
but since Doctor Bancroft has informed me, that it would be 
agreeable to the minister that I should go, I have been pre- 
cluded from following the fleet, as the present commandant has 
no orders for that purpose." With this letter he forwarded 
one, open, to the prince of Nassau, requesting Franklin to with- 
hold it, if he found any thing improper in its contents. We learn 
from Franklin's reply, that it was delivered ; but it was not 
answered, as the prince had changed his mind. It was as 
follows : 



PAUL JONIS. 127 

" His Highness the Prince De Nassau. 

" My Prince — The honour which you propose to do me, by 
accompanying me on the ocean, fills my heart with the warmest 
sentiments of gratitude. 

" When your intentions were communicated to me, I had 
under my command a ship bound in company with two fine 
frigates for America, where there are now two new ships of 
eighty guns each, and eight frigates of forty guns each, nearly 
ready for sea. 

" On my arrival there, from the former confidence of Congress, 
I had assurance of an immediate removal into one of their best 
ships, and to have been appointed to command the first squad- 
ron which they thought fit to destine for any private expedition. 
Before I came to Europe, Congress honoured me with several 
such appointments, and I had assurance, that when admirals 
were appointed, my name would be remembered. 

" These, my Prince, were flattering prospects to a man who 
drew his sword only from principles of philanthropy, and in 
support of the dignity of human nature ; and these are the 
prospects I have voluntarily laid aside, that I may pursue glory 
in your company. 

" Suffer me not, therefore, I beseech you, to continue longer 
in this shameful inactivity ; such dishonour is worse to me than 
a thousand deaths. I have already lost the golden season, the 
summer, which, in war, is of more value than all the rest of the 
year. I appear here as a person cast off* and useless ; and 
when any one asks me what I purpose to do, I am unable to 
answer. 

" Had this been my first or second disappointment, I should 
have said nothing concerning it. After various other objects 
had misgiven before I left Passy, which M. de Sartine had 
thought of, to keep me employed, until the scheme wherein you 
were concerned could take place, I was ordered down here at 
so short a notice, that I had not time, before my departure, to 
take leave of you ; yet, on my arrival here, I found that what 
had been proposed for me, was bestowed on others. I then 



128 PAUL JONES; 

offered to follow Count D'Orvilliers as a volunteer, agreeably 
to his kind invitation ; but M. de la Prevalaye will not permit 
this, it not being mentioned in his orders. 

" I have, my Prince, been unaccustomed to ask any favours, 
even from Congress, for I am not in pursuit of interest ; yet, 
let me beseech you to represent my situation to the best of 
kings, that 1 may, with you, be forthwith enabled to pursue 
glory, and humble the common enemy of humanity. 

" If the ship that was at first proposed, cannot with certainty 
be got ready for sea next month, you, my Prince, can obtain 
another, with the Epervier and the Alert, tenders. There is a 
fine frigate at L'Orient, built On the same construction with 
the ship at first proposed, and mounted with eighteen-pounders. 
This ship has been at India, is known to sail fast, and may, 
perhaps, be obtained, till it is seen whether the other can be 
got out. 

" If this ship is refused, there are many other fine frigates 
newly built at St. Malos, and other places, to which I hear of 
no commanders being appointed. I have the greatest depen- 
dance on the generous intentions of that great minister, M. de 
Sartine, but I cannot every day intrude on him with letters, and, 
in the multiplicity and importance of his affairs, my concerns 
may escape his memory. 

" I wish for the honour of a letter from your own hand ; 
though I cannot write in French, yet I understand letters which 
are written in that language ; and I have with me now a lieu- 
tenant that speaks it well. 

" My Prince, your's, &;c." 

On the 28th, he wrote pressingly to Compte D'Orvilliers for 
directions to M. Prevalaye to permit his embarkation with the 
fleet, should a vessel be sent in with letters. " I ardently wish," 
he says, " to attend you with my eyes, even to the pinnacle of 
fame ; and to learn from so great and good a general, how I 
may hereafter ascend the slippery precipices, beyond which the 
edifice is erected." 



PAUL JONES. 129 

M. Prevalaye, the commandant, who did not feel at hberty to 
allow the captain to go on board of the fleet, also refused to 
furnish any guard for the prisoners, after the armed vessels of 
France had left the port. After much trouble, an exchajige had 
been agreed upon, and a cartel provided for ; and in these cir- 
cumstances, there was nothing to prevent the prisoners from 
defeating the object of the protracted negotiation, by departing 
of their own accord. Jones ^vrote in terms of authority to Mr. 
T. Lee, the deputy agent, and of earnest request to the Inten- 
dant of the port and the commissioners, to prevent this catas- 
trophe. For his perseverance in procuring a guard, he received 
the hearty commendation of Franklin ; who, in his letter of the 
6th February, said, " your letter was sent to the Prince de 
Nassau. I am confident something will be done for you, 
though I do not yet know what. I sympathize with you in 
what I know you must suflfer, from your present inactivity ; but 
have patience." But nothing was done ; and patience was 
not perhaps the most prominent virtue in Jones' character. 

On the 31st he wrote to Franklin, desiring as the American 
frigates had sailed on the 22d, that his letter of the 15th de- 
manding a court martial for Simpson, might be suppressed, if 
it had not been presented to the commissioners. He adds : 
" It is here reported that the Jamaica fleet of 70 sail, under 
convoy of the Portland and four frigates, passed in sight of the 
Brest fleet, and got clear, because Compte D'Orvilliers would 
not break his line to give chase. I wish to disbelieve this 
account ; because I had written to him that such a fleet was 
expected." " I endeavour to console myself with the reflection, 
that my own situation cannot well be altered for the worse. I 
must acknowledge, however, that I have need of some of your 
philosophy." 

Among the great vexations to which he was subjected at this 
time, were others of a petty nature, well calculated to provoke 
him in the isolated and expectant situation in which he seemed 
to find himself. Fifty casks of the prize porter, which he had 
orders from the commissioners to receive, were refused him by 

16 



130 PAUL JONES. 

a sub-agent, unless he would pay ready money for them ; and 
he was invited to accompany the same agent to see the plate 
weighed over again. On the 13th September he determined 
to write to the minister, what he calls in his epistle to Frank- 
lin, an explicit letter. It is a summary of his past disap- 
pointments. 

" Honoured Sir, 

" When his excellency Doctor Franklin informed me that you 
had condescended to think me worthy of your notice, I took 
such pleasure in reflecting on the happy alliance between France 
and America, that I was really flattered, and entertained the 
most grateful sense of the honour which you proposed for me, 
as well as the favour which the king proposed for America, by 
putting so fine a ship of war as the Indien under my command, 
and under its flag, with unlimited orders. 

" In obedience to your desire, I came to Versailles, and was 
taught to believe that my intended ship was in deep water, and 
ready for the sea ; but when the Prince (de Nassau) returned, I 
received from him a different account ; I was told that the In- 
dien could not be got afloat within a shorter period than three 
months, at the approaching equinox. 

" To employ this interval usefully, I first oflfered to go from 
Brest with Count D'Orvilliers, as a volunteer, which you thought 
fit to reject. I had then the satisfaction to find that you appro- 
ved in general of a variety of hints for private enterprises, which 
I had drawn up for your consideration, and I was flattered with 
assurances from Messieurs de Chaumont and Bandonin, that 
three of the finest frigates in France, with two tenders, and a 
number of troops, would be immediately put under my com- 
mand ; and that I should have unlimited orders, and be at 
free liberty to pursue such of my own projects as I thought 
proper. . But this plan fell to nothing, in the moment when I 
was taught to think that nothing was wanting but the King's 
signature. 

" Another much inferior armament from L'Orient was pro- 



PAUL JONES. 13 J 

posed to be put under my command, which was by no means 
equal to the services that were expected from it ; for speed and 
force, though both requisite, were both wanting. Happily for 
me this also failed, and I was thereby saved from a dreadful 
prospect of ruin and dishonour. 

'* I had so entire a reliance that you would desire nothing of 
me inconsistent with my honour and rank, that the moment you 
required me to come down here, in order to proceed round to 
St. Malo, though I had received no written orders, and neither 
knew your intention respecting my destination or command, I 
obeyed with such haste, that although my curiosity led me to 
look at the armament at L'Orient, yet I was but three days 
from Passy till I reached Brest. Here too I drew a blank ; 
but when I saw the Lively, it was no disappointment, as that 
ship, both in sailing and equipment, is far inferior to the Ranger. 

" My only disappointment here was my being precluded from 
embarking in pursuit of marine knowledge with Count D'Or- 
villiers, who did not sail tjll seven days after my return. He ig 
my friend, and expressed his wishes for my company ; I accom- 
panied him out of the road when the fleet sailed ; and he always 
lamented that neither himself nor any person in authority in 
Brest, had received from you any order that mentioned my name. 
I am astonished, therefore, to be informed that you attribute 
my not being in the fleet to my stay at L'Orient.* ; 

I am not a mere adventurer of fortune. Stimulated by 
principles of reason and philanthropy, I laid aside my enjoy- 
ments in private life, and embarked under the flag of America 
when it was first displayed. In that line my desire of fame is 
infinite, and I must not now so far forget my own honour, and 
what I owe to my friends and America, as to remain inactive. 

" My rank knows no superior in the American marine : I 
have long since been appointed to command an expedition with 
five of its ships, and I can receive orders from no junior or 
inferior officer whatever. 

* Fraokliu had so informed Jones in a letter of the 6th. 



132 PAUL JONES. 

" I have been here in the most tormenting suspense for more 
than a month since my return ; and agreeable to your desire, 
as mentioned to me by Monsieur Chaumont, a heutenant has 
been appointed, and is with me, who speaks the French as well 
as the Enghsh. Circular letters have been written, and sent 
the 8th of last month from the English Admiralty, because they 
expected me to pay another visit with four ships. Therefore, 
I trust that, if the Indien is not to be got out, you will not, at 
the approaching season, substitute a force that is not at least 
equal both in strength and sailing to any of the enemy's cruising 
ships. 

" I do not wish to interfere with the harmony of the French 
marine ; but if I am still thought worthy of your attention, I 
shall hope for a separate command, with liberal orders. If, on 
the contrary, you should now have no further occasion for my 
services, the only favour I can ask is, that you will bestow on 
me the Alert, with a few seamen, and permit me to return, and 
carry with me your good opinion in that small vessel, before the 
winter, to America. 

" I am happy to hear that frigates from St. Malo have been 
successful near Shetland. Had Count D'Estaing arrived in the 
Delaware* a few days sooner, he might have made a most 
glorious and easy conquest. Many other successful projects 
may be adopted from the hints I had the honour to draw up ; 
and if I can still furnish more, or execute any of those already 
furnished, so as to distress and humble the common enemy, it 
will afford me the truest satisfaction. 

" I am ambitious to merit the honour of your friendship and 
favour ; and being fully persuaded that I now address a noble 
minded man, who will not be offended with the honest freedom 
which has always marked my correspondence, I am, &c." 

In enclosing this letter to Franklin, he requests him to sup- 
press it, if he should find it amiss, and observes that he should 
have made no mention of his rank, had it not been hinted to 

* Note in the Margin, by Jones, " I gave the plan for that expedition." 



PAUL JONES. 133 

him that it was proposed to send him from St. Malo, under the 
command of French lieutenants. This hint he says in a mar- 
ginal note, was a mistake. He adds : " The frigates from St. 
Malo were sent in consequence of a hint, which I furnished. 
Though I am myself neglected, I hope they have been very 
successful. It is in vain for the minister to pretend that he has 
not ships to bestow. I know the contrary. He has bestowed 
the Renommee and others here since my return ; and there are 
yet several new ships unbestowed at St. Malo and elsewhere. 
I know too, that unless the States of Holland oppose it, the 
Indien can be got afloat with a tenth part of the difficulty that 
has been represented. If I was worth his notice at the begin- 
ning, I am not less so now. After all, you have desired me to 
have patience, and I promise you that I will wait your kind 
advice, and take no step without your approbation. If it were 
consistent and convenient for you to see M. de Sartine, I should 
hope that such an explanation would be the consequence, as 
might remove every cause of uneasiness." The letter to De 
Sartine was submitted, before its delivery, to the Due de Roche- 
foucault. 

On the 18th, he wrote to Franklin, that he had seen the Fox, 
a sloop of war mounting 24 guns, which had been taken by the 
Hancock and Adams, and that he would accept of her, attended 
by the Alert as a tender, if nothing better should offer. On the 
21st he addressed the Due de Chartres, expressing his warm 
sense of the kindness shown to him at court by that nobleman, 
and repeating his successive disappointments. He concluded by 
saying : " If the minister has no farther occasion for my ser- 
vices, I have then only to ask permission to have the Alert, and 
to carry with me to America his good opinion, before the win- 
ter. As in my present mysterious situation here, I am con- 
sidered an officer in disgrace, I am persuaded I need make* no 
further apology to a brave officer, and a noble minded prince, 
for the liberty I take." 

He received at this period encouraging letters from his friend 
Dr. Bancroft, at Paris. " This very d^y" (September 23d,) he 



134 PAUL JONES. 

said, " M. Chaumont has gone to Versailles, to press M. de 
Sartine to give you the Fox frigate. If this should be denied, 
we are all determined to let the great man know in strong terms 
our opinions of his faithless and dishonourable proceedings." 
And on the 6th of the following month, Mr. W. T. Franklin, 
grandson of the plenipotentiary, wrote to him thus : "I have 
felt for you most sincerely. M. S's conduct towards you has 
been as remarkable, as it has been unjust, and has altered in a 
great degree the good opinion many have had of him. I have 
been asked in several companies, ' Ou est le brave Capitaine 
Janes'^ ^uefait-ilT and have felt myself, as your compatriot, 
in a manner ill treated, when I can only answer, that you are 
still at Brest. On the receipt of your letter, I asked M. Chau- 
mont, whether he thought any thing would be done for you ? 
He answered, that, to his certain knowledge, M. S. was 
ashamed of the conduct he had held towards you, and that he 
was now occupied to make up for it." He added in a postscript, 
what he had learned from M. Chaumont, that the minister had 
sworn by the Styx, on the day previous, 'that he would give 
Captain Jones a frigate, were he even to buy it ;' and enclosed 
a copy of a letter from Mr. Bancroft to the same effect. The 
latter assured Mr. Franklin, that the minister had all along 
had good intentions ; but had been prevented from carrying 
them into execution, by the jealousies and intrigues of the 
French naval officers. As these were naturally to be expected, 
and many of those gentleman were actually without commands 
or employment at the time, many allowances must be made for 
M. de Sartine ; who must have felt perplexed, if not humiliated, 
by the breach of so many engagements. On the 9th October, 
Jones wrote thus in terms of strong expostulation, to the Due 
de Rouchefoucault. 

*' My Lord Duke, 

" The 21st ult. I wrote a particular account of my situation 
here, to his Royal Highness the Due de Chartres ; but that brave 
prince has, I understand, met with unmerited trouble, and 



PAUL JONES. 135 

of course has not leisure to remove my suspense. The minis- 
ter's behaviour tovv^ards me has been and is really astonishing. 
At his request (for I sought not the connexion) I gave up abso- 
lute certainties, and far more flattering prospects than any of 
those vehich he proposed. What inducement could I have for 
this but gratitude to France for having first recognised our 
independence f And having given my w^ord to stay for some 
time in Europe, I have been and am unwalling to take it back, 
especially after having communicated the circumstances to 
Congress. The minister, to my infinite mortification, after 
possessing himself of my schemes and ideas, has treated me like 
a child five times successively, by leading me on from great to 
little, and from httle to less. Does such conduct do honour 
either to his head or to his heart ? He has not to this moment 
offered me the least apology for any of these five deceptions ; 
nor has he, I believe, assigned any good reason to that venerable 
and great character, his Excellency Doctor Franklin, whom he 
has made the instrument to entrap me in this cruel state ol 
inaction and suspense. 

" The minister has lately v^^ritten a letter to Count D'Or- 
villiers, proposing to send me home in ' une bonne voiture.' 
This is absolutely adding insult to injury, and it is the propo- 
sition of a man whose veracity I have not experienced in former 
cases. 

" I could in the summer, with the Ranger, joined with the 
two other American frigates, have given the enemy sufficient 
foundation for their fears in Britain as well as Ireland, and 
could since have been assisting Count D'Estaing, or acting 
separately with an American squadron. Instead of this, I am 
chained down to shameful inactivity here, after having written 
to Congress to reserve no command for me in America. 

" Convinced as I am, that your noble and generous breast 
will feel for my unmerited treatment, I must beseech you to 
interest yourself with the Duke de Chartres, that the king may 
be made acquainted with my situation. I have been taught to 
believe that I have been detained in France with his Majesty's 



1.36 PAUL JONES. 

knowledge and approbation, and I am sure he is too good a 
prince to detain me for my hurt or dishonour. 

" M. de Sartine may think as he pleases, but Congress will 
not thank him for having thus treated an officer who has always 
been honoured with their favour and friendship. I entertained 
some hopes of his honourable intentions till he gave the com- 
mand of the Fox to a lieutenant, after my friends had asked for 
me only that ship with the Alert cutter. He was the asker at 
the beginning, and ought to be so now ; he has, to my certain 
knowledge, ships unbestowed, and he is bound in honour to 
give me the Indien, as he proposed at the first, or an equivalent 
command, immediately." 

On the 13th he wrote to M. Le Ray de Chaumont* as follows : 
*' I accept your generous encomiums with pleasure, as a proof 
of your good opinion and friendship, which I shall be always 
ambitious to merit, both in the line of my duty as an American 
officer, and as an individual who esteems the affection of your 
family, as a very singular honour. I believe your proposition 
respecting your ship Union to be very disinterested ; as such it 
claims my warmest thanks. But I am not my own master ; 
and as a servant of the Imperial Republic of America, honoured 
with the friendship and favour of Congress, I cannot, from my 
own authority or inclination, serve either myself or even my 
best friends, in any private line whatever ; unless where the 
honour and interest of America is the premier object. 

" Although the minister has treated me like a child five suc- 
cessive times, by leading me on from great to little, and from 
little to less, yet I had some dependance on his honourable 
intentions until he refused the small command which you asked 
for me the 23d ultimo, and afterwards bestowed the Fox on a 
lieutenant who, to my certain knowledge, does not thank him 
for the favour, and thinks that ship far short of his right. 1 
say I verily believed the minister at the begiiming, and after- 



* This name is elsewhere copied from some letters " Mr. Chaumont." 



PAUL JONES. 137 

wards ; but now having deceived me so often, I wish him to 
know that I doubt him, though he swears even ' by the StyxJ* I 
have written to him several respectful letters of some conse- 
quence, none of which he has condescended to answer. This 
is a piece of incivility and disrespect to me as a stranger, which 
he has not shown even to subalterns in the French marine, in 
whose hands I have seen his answers to letters of little impor- 
tance. The secrecy which I was required to observe respecting 
what seemed his first intention in my favour, has been inviolable ; 
and I have been so delicate with respect to my situation, that I 
have been, and am considered every where as an officer dis- 
graced and cast off for private reasons. I have of course been 
in actual disgrace here ever since my return, which is more 
than two months. I have already lost near five months of my 
time, the best season of the year, and such opportunities of 
serving my country, and acquiring honour, as I cannot again 
expect this war, while I have been thus shamefully entrapped in 
inaction. My duty and sensibility cannot brook this unworthy 
situation. If the minister's intentions have been honourable 
from the beginning, he will make a direct written apology to 
me, suitable to the injury which I have sustained, otherwise, in 
vindication of my sacred honour, painful as it will be, I must 
publish in the Gazettes of Europe the conduct he has held 
towards me. 

" 1 offered some time ago to accept of the Fox with the 
Alert ; because both the bottoms are sheathed with copper, and 
because I wished to put the minister to no inconvenience, and 
had a project in view, which I thought I could execute with 
that small force. He has denied the application ; therefore, I 
will make no other request. 

" As he invited me to stay in Europe, by the laws of hospi- 
tality it is his duty to oflfer. And if he does not give me the 
command he at first proposed, (the Indien) he cannot in honour 
now oflfer me less than an equivalent force. I will accept of 
nothing that sails slow, or is of trifling force. I shall expect a 
yes or no to this immediately ; and it will aflford me the truest 

17 



138 PAUL JONES. 

satisfaction if my honour is made whole, and the misunder- 
standing is happily removed. The Prince de Nassau has been 
uncivil, in not answering my letters. The generous part you. 
have taken in my affairs, claims my most grateful thanks." 

On the 12th, M. de Sartine replied to the request of the 
commissioners, that a ship might be furnished to transport 
Captain Jones to America, that the king was willing to grant 
such facility ; but that it would be previously necessary for him 
to know whether it would be possible to procure an American 
Cfew ; as the number and wants of the French ships would not 
allow any of their sailors to be detached. It would seem from 
this that the minister felt at the moment tired of even making 
promises. 

At length Jones determined, as a last resort, to address the 
king in person. The following were the terms in which he 
wrote. 

" Brest, October 19th, 1778. 

" Sire — After my return to Brest in the American ship of 
war the Ranger, from the Irish Channel, his excellency Dr. 
Franklin informed me by letter, dated June the 1st, that M. de 
Sartine, having a high opinion of my conduct and bravery, had 
determined, with your 3Iajesty's consent and approbation, to 
give me the command of the ship of war the Indien, which was 
built at Amsterdam for America, but afterwards, for political 
reasons, made the property of France. 

" I was to act with unlimited orders, under the commission 
and flag of America ; and the Prince de Nassau proposed to 
accompany me on the ocean. 

" I was deeply penetrated with the sense of the honour done 
me by this generous proposition, as well as of the favour your 
Majesty intended thereby to confer on America. And I accepted 
the offier with the greater pleasure, a&^the Congress had sent 
me to Europe in the Ranger, to command the Indien before 
the ownership of that vessel was changed. 

*' The minister desired to see me at Versailles to settle future 



PAUL JONES. 139 

plans of operation, and 1 attended him for that purpose. I was 
told that the Indien was at the Texel, completely armed and 
fitted for sea ; but the Prince de Nassau was sent express to 
Holland, and returned with a very different account. The ship 
was at Amsterdam, and could not be got afloat or armed before 
the September equinox. The American plenipotentiaries pro- 
posed that I should return to America ; and as I have repeatedly 
been appointed to the chief command of an American squadron 
to execute secret enterprises, it was not doubted but that Con- 
gress would again show me a preference. M. de Sartine, how- 
ever, thought proper to prevent my departure, by writmg to the 
plenipotentiaries, (without my knowledge,) requesting that I 
might be permitted to remain in Europe, and that the Ranger 
might be sent back to America under another commander, he 
having special services which he wished me to execute. This 
request they readily granted, and I was flattered by the prospect 
of being enabled to testify, by my services, my gratitude to your 
Majesty, as the first prince who has so generously acknowledged 
our independence. 

"^here was an interval of more than three months before the 
Indien could be gotten afloat. To employ that period usefully, 
when your Majesty's fleet was ordered to sail from Brest, I pro- 
posed to the minister to embark in it as a volunteer, in pursuit of 
marine knowledge. He objected to this, and at the same time 
approved of a variety of hints for private enterprises, which I 
had drawn up for his consideration. Two gentlemen were ap- 
pointed to settle with me the plans that were to be adopted, 
who gave me the assurance that three of the best frigates in 
France, with two tenders, and a number of troops, should be 
immediately put under my command, to pursue such of my own 
projects as I thought proper ; but this fell to nothing, when I 
believed that your majesty's signature only was wanting. 

" Another armament, composed of cutters and small vessels, 
at L' Orient, was proposed to be put under my command, to 
alarm the coasts of England and check the Jersey privateers ; 
but, happily for me, this also failed, and I was saved from ruin 



140 PAUL JONES. 

and dishonour, as I now find that all the vessels sailed slow, 
and their united force is very insignificant. The minister then 
thought fit that I should return to Brest to command the Lively, 
and join some frigates on an expedition from St. Malo to the 
North Sea. I returned in haste for that purpose, and found that 
the Lively had been bestowed at Brest before the minister had 
mentioned that ship to me at Versailles. This was, however, 
another fortunate disappointment, as the Lively proves, both in 
sailing and equipment, much inferior to the Ranger ; but, more 
especially, if it be true, as I have since understood, that the 
minister intended to give the chief command of the expedition 
to a lieutenant, which would have occasioned a very disagreeable 
misunderstanding : for, as an officer of the first rank in the 
American marine, who has ever been honoured with the favour 
and friendship of Congress, I can receive orders from no inferior 
officer whatever. My plan was the destruction of the English 
Baltic fleet, of great consequence to the enemy's marine, and 
then only protected by a single frigate ! I would have held my- 
self responsible for its success, had I commanded the expedition. 

" M. de Sartine afterwards sent orders to Count D'Orvilliers 
to receive me on board the fleet, agreeably to my former pro- 
posal ; but the order did not arrive until after the departure of 
the fleet the last time from Brest, nor was I made acquainted 
with the circumstance before the fleet returned here. 

" Thus have I been chained down to shameful inactivity for 
nearly five months. I have lost the best season of the year, 
and such opportunities of serving my country and acquiring 
honour, as I cannot again expect this war ; and, to my infi- 
nite mortification, having no command, I am considered every 
where an officer cast off and in disgrace for secret reasons. 

'* I have written respectful letters to the minister, none of 
which he has condescended to answer ; I have written to the 
Prince de Nassau with as little effect ; and I do not understand 
that any apology has been made to the great and venerable Dr. 
Franklin, whom the minister has made the instrument of bring- 
ing me into such unmerited trouble. 



PAUL JONES. 141 

" Having written to Congress to reserve no command for me 
in America, my sensibility is the more affected by this unworthy 
situation in the sight of your majesty's fleet. I, however, make 
no remark on the treatment I have received. 

" Although I wish not to become my own panegyrist, I must 
beg your majesty's permission to observe, that I am not an 
adventurer in search of fortune, of which, thank God, I have 
a sufficiency. 

" When the American banner was first displayed, I drew my 
sword in support of the violated dignity and rights of human 
nature ; and both honour and duty prompt me steadfastly to 
continue the righteous pursuit, and to sacrifice to it, not only 
my private enjoyments, but even life, if necessary. I must ac- 
knowledge that the generous praise which I have received from 
Congress and others exceeds the merit of my past services ; 
therefore I the more ardently wish for future opportunities of 
testifying my gratitude by my activity. 

" As your majesty, by espousing the caflse of America, hath 
become the protector of the rights of human nature, I am per- 
suaded that you will not disregard my situation, nor suffer me 
to remain any longer in this insupportable disgrace. 

*' I am, with perfect gratitude and profound respect, Sire, 
your majesty's very obliged, very obedient, and very humble 
servant, 

" J. Paul Jones." 

In a letter of the same date, Jones solicited the Duchess of 
Chartres to present the foregoing representation to his majesty. 
He also wrote to Franklin, enclosing it for his inspection, a wise 
precaution which he adopted in all cases of a similar nature. 
One of the principal sources of his vexation was the supposition 
which he believed to be current, that he had incurred the dis- 
pleasure of his venerated " guide, philosopher, and friend," now 
the minister plenipotentiary at the court of Versailles. This 
rumour he often mentions as the climax of his embarassments. 
There is no reason to suppose that the letter to the king was 



142 PAUL JONES. 

ever delivered. Mr. William Franklin, in the postscript to a 
letter of the 22d October, said : " I would willingly do every 
thing you desire of me ; but it is my grandfather's opinion, that 
there will be no occasion to send those letters ; and I imagine 
they were written before you heard of the minister's final 
determination. If, however, you still think they ought to be 
sent, you have only to order it." The letters referred to, were 
those to the king and the Dutchess of Chartres ; and this new 
" final determination" of the minister, thus communicated, was 
of a nature to render their delivery unnecessary. In the letter 
of which the postscript has been cited, Mr. Franklin informed 
Jones, that his appeal to Mr. Chaumont had had a good effect ; 
and that the latter was charged to put t^ie minister's design in 
immediate execution. This was, as we gather from the sub- 
sequent correspondence, to purchase the best ship that could be 
procured for Jones, and get it in immediate readiness for sailing. 

The name of M. Le Ray de Chaumont has been already 
several times mentioned, and as it will frequently occur again, 
coupled with commentaries, which misapprehension and haste 
prematurely elicited from Jones, it may not be amiss here to 
anticipate several remarks, which would otherwise be more 
frequently necessary. It is not expedient, and indeed it would 
be improper, in a mere compilation of this nature, to draw in- 
ferences affecting the character of persons who are dead. Pal- 
pably false impressions, however, as to prominent individuals, 
should not be suffered to obtain circulation, without being rec- 
tified. 

M. Le Ray de Chaumont had held two of the most honoura- 
ble employments under the French monarchy,* previous to the 
declaration of American independence. On relinquishing them, 
he was authorized to retain the honorary titles, with a handsome 
pension during life. A more important employment was at the 
same time offered him by the government, which would have 



• Grand maitre des Eaux et For^ta de France, and Intendant des Invalides. 



PAUL JONES. 143 

connected him with the party in the king's council, opposed to 
rendering assistance to the Americans, in their struggle for inde- 
pendence. He was warmly (and from the nature of his situation, 
must have been disinterestedly) attached to the cause of liberty 
and of America. This he wisely saw he could best serve in a 
private capacity, as France was not yet prepared to take an 
open and decided part in the controversy. His large fortune, 
extensive credit, and his connexions and influence with those 
of the ministers who were inclined to lend aid to the colo- 
nies, enabled him to render peculiar and efficient assistance to 
the commissioners, and American agents in France. When no 
visible means of repayment were presented, he furnished a large 
quantity of powder and military stores in 1776, for the use of 
America, asking for reimbursement when the United States 
should be recognized as a free empire, and not before. While 
the commissioners were in the equivocal situation, in which they 
were permitted to correspond with the government without being 
officially recognized, he abandoned to their use, or rather cour- 
teously prevailed upon them to occupy his splendidly furnished 
houses. In the autumn of 1778, Mr. John Adams felt that the 
acceptance of such civilities might give cause for censure on his 
government, if they were gratuitously accepted ; and from his 
government if they were paid for, even on the most vulgar and 
economical principles of calculation. M. Le Ray, however, 
rejected the idea of conjpensation ; and his wealth at the time 
placed his motives, as well as his wisdom, beyond suspicion. He 
was able to affiard it ; and did not feel it as a sacrifice. The 
secret treaty did not place the commissioners in a better attitude 
for asking open favours ; and even after the treaties of alliance 
had been interchanged, Franklin been subsequently recognised 
as minister plenipotentiary, and war openly declared between 
France and England, the particular enterprises which Jones 
most coveted, and which he was most competent to execute, 
were different in their character from those which France con- 
templated. He sought to retaliate for measures of oppression 
and cruelty, for villages burnt, and prisoners languishing in dun- 



]44 PAUL JONES. 

geons, which civilized tactics had not allowed England to prac- 
tise upon the new ally of the United States. While France, 
therefore, was to furnish the means, America was to furnish 
the flag. In such a juncture, a citizen holding no official sta- 
tion, of great wealth and influence, and enjoying the confidence 
of both the American and French governments, was precisely 
wanted both as mediator and director, to make arrangements 
for such desultory expeditions as might be projected, until the 
ships had left the ports of France, under the stars and stripes, 
with Retribution for their motto. In concert with his illustrious 
friend M. de la Fayette, M. Chaumont undertook this nice bu- 
siness ; and the testimony of those to whose memory this repub- 
lic now pays universal and unqualified honour, is that he was 
faithful to the last in performing what he had voluntarily and 
gratuitously undertaken.* 

Such was the friend whose active intercession obtained this 
*' final" promise from the minister ; which, like the others, was 



* See Appendix, No. VII. where several documents are cited. In the correspon- 
dence of Silas Deane, (Diplomatic Correspondence, I. 146,) the following pithy para- 
graph occurs, in relationto M. Chaumont and Mr. Arthur Lee. The latter gentleman 
gave great annoyance to Jones ; and, whatever his motives may have been, the cap- 
tain does not seem to need an apology for expressing his sense of it, as he does in 
several of the passages which will be subsequently introduced. 

" It is not enough to say, that no man in France enjoys a better character for strict 
honour and probity, both at court, and in the city, than Mons. Chaumont. Justice 
must add, there is no man enjoys it perhaps so universally through the kingdom, among 
the merchants, the farmers or husbandmen, and mechanics, in all which branches of 
business, he is constantly speculating. This man is the friend of Dr. Franklin. I 
have the pleasure of knowing him to be mine, and what is more, the friend of my 
country, on all and in tiie most trying occasions. I do not wonder that Mr. Lee should 
appear jealous of this gentleman, as well as of every body else, a select few excepted ; 
and very few, indeed, are those who escape his jealous suspicions, either in Europe or 
America. It is a melancholy truth, but justice to the public requires my declaring it, 
that I never knew Mr. Lee, from his first coming to Paris, satisfied with any one per- 
son he did business with, whether of a public or a private nature ; and his dealings, 
whether for trifles or for things of importance, almost constantly ended in a dispute, 
sometimes in litigious quarrels. Mr. Lee lived some time in M. Chaumont's house. 
M. Chaumont knew him perfectly well, and was not reserved in' speaking his opinion 
of him." 



PAUL JONES. ^W6 

never performed, but which led eventually to Jones' obtaining 
command of a ship, such as it was, in which he fought one of 
the most desperate naval battles on record. In a letter of his 
which we have already quoted from, he expresses his gratitude 
for the hospitality and services of M. Le Ray ; and the same 
tone pervades his correspondence, until the unfortunate misun- 
derstanding which led him to use harsher language than his 
cooler judgment approved; and for which, it may be added to 
his great credit, he afterwards frankly made the amende 
honorable. 

The necessity of condensation compels the omission of several 
letters written at this period ; as they are not indispensable. Long 
months were yet to elapse, before Jones found himself actually 
at sea, with an " independent command." He still urged the 
reservation of the Indien for himself; which ship, he had been 
assured by " an American gentleman of sense, might at any 
spring tide be got to the Texel, with the assistance of a camel, 
and there armed in a fortnight, without any opposition from the 
states." In pursuance of M. Chaumont's request, he was, how- 
ever, earnestly engaged in making inquiries for a suitable and 
fast sailing ship. He intimated to that gentleman, that he had 
not only the pride of the French marine to conciliate, but that 
he " had excited the jealousy of many officers in our own young 
navy, because he had pursued honour, while they had sought 
after profit." Some expressions of his in this communication, 
it may be pertinent to record. He says : " Your letter has 
given me great pleasure, the more so as it leads me to connect 
myself more immediately with yourself." " Not to love your- 
self, and those persons whose names you have mentioned in 
the latter part of your letter, would be base ; and my heart 
tells me that I shall never be capable of such ingratitude." 
He wrote in the middle of November, to Mr. Robert Morris, 
informing him of his situation, and assigning probably the true 
reasons for the procrastination of the minister ; that the rules 
of the French service did not admit of giving him the command 
of ships detached from the royal marine ; and that the French 

18 



146 PAUL JONES. 

officers, as he expresses it with somewhat of morbid bitterness 
of feeling, " could not look at him in Brest, but with rival eyes. 
The minister cannot and dares not do what he wishes." Being 
" an eyesore to the marine," as he phrases it in a letter to W. 
Franklin, he was desirous of leaving Brest. He examined, 
and unqualifiedly rejected an armed prize ship called the Nep- 
tune, represented as a fine frigate of 32 guns. " I wish," he 
wrote to M. Chaumont, to have no connexion with any ship 
that does not sail fast ; for I intend to go in harvi's icay. You 
know, I believe, that this is not every one's intention. There- 
ifore, buy a frigate that sails fast, and that is sufficiently large 
to carry 26 or 28 guns, (not less than twelve-pounders,) on one 
deck. I would rather be shot ashore, than sent to sea in such 
things as the armed prizes I have described." In the same 
letter, he suggested that Americans might be found among the 
English prisoners, who would serve under him if assured as to 
the time and manner of receiving their wages, and share of 
prize money ; and expressed his wish that neither the admiralty 
nor the existing American agents might have any thing to do 
with the prizes. He adds : " I have almost half killed myself 
with grief. Give me but an assurance that the command of the 
Indien will be reserved for me, and bestowed on no other person, 
on any pretence whatsoever, and I will say I am satisfied. This, 
I pledge myself, will be no loss to France. America is not 
ungrateful. The noble minded Congress know not the little 
mean distinctions of climate or place of nativity ; nor have they 
adopted any rule, which can preclude them from encouraging 
or rewarding the merit of a stranger, by raising him even to the 
first posts of honour. In the army, there are many instances 
of this. In the navy, young as it is, it gives me particular 
pleasure to inform you, that Congress have given the command 
of the best ship in their service to a French officer, and called 
the ship the Alliance." At this time, M. Chaumont intimated 
to him, that the Duras, an old Indiaman, that had made three 
voyages, was for sale ; and he expressed his willingness to accept 
that ship, with a good tender, provided she sailed fast. 



PAUL JONES. 147 

Mr. Arthur Lee at this period regaled him with an inquiry 
about one of the Ranger's old prizes, of httle vakie, which had 
been sold a year before at Nantes, and the captors' moiety paid 
according to Mr. Lee's own directions. The answer of Jones 
was respectful and caustic. He took occasion to remind the 
commissioner of his having concurred in the dishonour of his 
draft, without communicating the knowledge in his possession 
to his colleagues, which led to his own seeming disgrace, and to 
the misery of his crew. " These poor men," he says, " were at 
last dragged away" (into the Ranger, when she left France 
under Simpson,) " without clothing ; having only received at 
Brest 8 or 9 crowns each, as prize money, at the moment of 
their departure ; and not being allowed to lay out even that 
trifle. Those who saw them last reported that they kept below, 
refusing duty, and imprecating general curses on the public 
service, the public agents, and all concerned." This statement 
is collaterally confirmed. It is to be observed, that Mr. A. Lee 
is no where charged with cupidity ; but with painful uneasiness 
and useless officiousness, in the course of his dealings in relation 
to the matter of the prizes. 

At this time, also, several offers were made to Jones to take 
command of privateering expeditions. Among others, M. 
Montieu of Nantes, who had purchased a new ship on which 
Jones had had his eye, offered him the command of an 
armament for such purposes. In replying through his friend 
Mr. Williams, Jones says : " Were I m pursuit ofp'ofit, I should 
accept the offer without hesitation. But I am under such obli- 
gations to Congress, that I cannot think myself my own master; 
and as servant of the imperial republic of America, honoured 
with the public approbation of my past services, I cannot, from 
my own authority or inclination, serve either myself or even my 
best friends in any private line whatsoever, unless where the 
honour and interest of America is the premier object."* On the 

* This sentence which Mr. Williams was to communicate to Mr. Montieu, is evi- 
dently elaborated, and is identical with one written to M. Chaumontfive weeks before, 
previously cited. 



148 PAUL JONES. 

30th November, he wrote to M. Chaumont, that by waiting 
until that time for orders or powers, he had lost the opportunity 
of purchasing a suitable ship, and was in great danger of losing 
a number of American seamen ; and that he was about to pro- 
ceed to L'Orient on his own responsibility, unless otherwise 
directed by the next post. " If we can do no better, I hope the 
Duras will answer." " I repeat to you, that if the Alert were 
now at my disposal, I could engage a number of American sea- 
men, from a privateer that still remains here." " My best 
respects and most grateful thanks await the minister, for the 
very honourable things which he said of me to the Due de la 
Rochefoucault. It shall be my ambition, when he gives me 
opportunities, to merit his favour and affection." 

From L'Orient he wrote to the commissioners on December 
9th, enclosing the memorial of the prisoners confined there on 
board the Patience. They were originally two hundred in 
number, but one hundred and thirty-one alone remained, and it 
was to be inferred that the others had been suffered to escape. 
Their condition was a melancholy one. The remarks Jones 
made on Riou, who was entrusted with their custody, have been 
previously quoted. The prisoners had full confidence in Father 
John, the chaplain of the Due D'Orvilliers, and begged for an 
answer through him. The memorial, signed by the officers of 
the Drake, represented, no doubt too truly, the miseries they 
had endured in their close confinement, at a distance from the 
shore, for seven months. In January following, M. Sartine 
granted an order for the release of such Americans as would 
enrol under Jones. 

For nearly two months, a singular gap in his indefatigable 
correspondence, we find no letters to or from Jones preserved 
among the originals or copies of his papers. His Journal 
for the king supplies the vacuum. " None of the ships at 
L'Orient appeared very suitable for the purpose, except one, 
the ' Marshal de Broglio,' a fine ship, bought soon afterwards 
by the king, and fitted for war with 64 guns. As nothing was 
done. Captain Jones determined to go himself to court, to know 



PAUL JONES. 



149 



why he was detained idle in Europe. The minister pressed him 
to accept the command of the Marshal de Broglio ; but Captain 
Jones was obliged to decline it, as he saw no means to procure 
a crew of Americans sufficient for that ship. The king then 
bought the Due de Duras, a much smaller ship, of fourteen 
years old. This ship was given to Captain Jones ; and at his 
request called Le Bon Homme Richard, in compliment to a 
saying of Poor Richard ; " If you would have your business 
done, come yourself; if not, send." The official intimation of 
this appointment was not given by M. de Sartine until the 4th 
February, who informed Jones that he was about to give orders 
for completely fitting and victualling the Duras ; that Jones was 
to hoist the flag of the United States, under the commission he 
had received from Congress when he left America, and to use 
his powers to form a ship's company of American volunteers. 
But he also informed him, that it was the king's pleasure 
that he should raise volunteers to make up the necessary number 
of his crew. As to his operations at sea, the minister in fact 
gave him carte blanche, asking only for an accouftt of his pro- 
ceedings, whenever he should enter a port within the king's 
dominions. He assented to the ship's changing her name, in 
compliance with the request of Jones. The letter was delivered 
to the latter by M. Garnier, who had recently been named 
ambassador to the United States, and assisted .Tones efficiently 
with his counsel and good offices. Jones made his acknowledg- 
ments -warmly, and in his best style, for the first actual favour 
he had received ; and a prospect of action opened before him, 
which at first expanded into one of consequence and dignity. 
It dwindled, however, again upon this view ; the result was 
destined to be achieved by his own energy ; and the glory that 
accompanied it was left to him without a co-rival. 

" M. Garnier was appointed by the court to arrange a plan 
for the armament. Four or five sail was to be added to the 
Bon Homme Richard, two of them to be fire-ships. Five hun- 
dred chosen troops were to embark, from one of the Irish 
regiments, under the command of the Chevalier de Fitz 



k 

150 PAUL JONES. 

Maurice, who was to be entirely under the command of Captain 
Jones. A plan was laid between M. Gamier and Captain Jones 
which promised perfect success; and had it succeeded, would 
have astonished the world."* 

Jones proceeded forthwith to Nantes to engage seamen, seve- 
ral of whom he enlisted at that place ; the Americans, as he 
says, being generally pleased with the character of the " poor 
Richard." The ship was calculated to mount only one battery 
of eighteen pounders, and he found scjme difficulty in procuring 
suitable ordnance to be cast. Writing to Mr. Garnier from 
Nantes, he urged, that as the new American frigate, the Alliance, 
which had been put under the command of a French officer, 
was, then at Brest, it would be a useful addition to the force 
which was to sail under him. Understanding that La Fayette 
had brought out the credentials of Franklin as ambassador, and 
that the Alliance would in consequence be under his control, he 
suggested that an application should be made to this effect. He 
little anticipated how much trouble such a request w as to entail 
upon him, which was more readily granted than any he had 
previously made. 

From Nantes he went to L'Orient, whence he wrote that 
finding the necessary cannon could be made at Bordeaux, he 
should repair there immediately; that he had procured seve- 
ral seamen at Brest and Nantes, and many valuable men for 
officers ; that volunteer soldiers enlisted with him daily, to 
serve during the war, and that he had accepted the offer of 
a captain in the American army to command them. After 
passing several times between Bordeaux and Angouleme, before 
the contract for casting the cannon was completed, he received 
on his return to L'Orient, an express summoning him to court. 
The Marquis de la Fayette had expressed a wish to join with 
him in an expedition, and command a body of select troops 
assigned to him by the king for that purpose. Franklin, at the 



+ Journal for the king. The plan was to attack Liverpool. 



PAUL JONES. 151 

request of the French government, made the AHiance a part 6f 
the force, which now began to assume the appearance of an 
armament with which much might be effected. It was to con- 
sist of the Bon Homme Richard, the Alliance, Pallas, Vengeance 
brig, and Cerf, a remarkably fine cutter. 

On his return to L'Orient, he found that two-thirds of the 
men sent as American volunteers from Nantes, were, as he 
describes them, " unfit to bear arms," a " set of dirty beings," 
who were to be sent to their homes at an additional expense. 
The rest were English prisoners, whose names he had blotted 
out of the list previously, because, during his absence at Bor- 
deaux, they had enlisted to serve in a privateer. He rated very 
soundly the officer, (Mr. Thompson,) under whose auspices these 
apologies for soldiers were forwarded for his use. 

On the 27th April, Franklin addressed to him the following 
letter, under the impression that La Fayette would co-operate 
with him. It would be improper to omit it here, though it- is 
found in other collections. Jones duly appreciated the sound 
sense of its precepts. With La Fayette, as with Franklin, he 
never would have openly differed. This may be safely affirmed, 
though he never was put to the test. 

; j", I have at the request of M. de Sartine, postponed the send- 
ing of the Alliance to America, and have ordered her to proceed 
immediately from Nantes to L'Orient, where she is to be fur- 
nished with her complement of men, join your little squadron, 
and act under your command. 

" The Marquis de la Fayette will be with you soon. It has 
been observed, that joint expeditions of land and sea forces, 
often miscarry through jealousies and misunderstandings be- 
tween the officers of the different corps. This must happen 
where there are little minds, actuated more by personal views 
of profit or honour to themselves, than by the warm and sincere 
desire of good to their country. Knowing you both, as I do, 
and your just manner of thinking on these occasions, I am con- 
fident nothing of the kind can happen between you, and that it 
is unnceessary for me to recommend to either of you, that con- 



1,^^ PAUL JONES. 

descension, mutual good will, and harmony, which contribute 
so much to success in such undertakings. I look upon this 
expedition as an introduction only to greater trusts and more 
extensive commands, and as a kind of trial of both your abilities, 
and of your fitness in temper and disposition for acting in con- 
cert with others. I flatter myself, therefore, that nothing will 
happen that may give impressions to the disadvantage of either 
of you, when greater affairs shall come under consideration. 

" As this is understood to be an American expedition, under 
the Congress commission and colours, the Marquis, who is a 
Major General in that service, has of course the step in point, 
of rankj and he must have the command of the land forces, 
which are committed by the king to his care ; but the command 
of the ships will be entirely in you, in which I am persuaded 
that whatever authority his rank might in strictness give him, 
he will not have the least desire to interfere with you. There 
is honour enough to be got for both of you, if the expedition is 
conducted with a prudent unanimity. The circumstance is 
indeed a little unusual ; for there is not only a junction of land 
and sea forces, but there is also a junction of Frenchmen and 
Americans, which increases the difficulty of maintaining a good 
understanding ; a cool, prudent conduct in the chiefs is there- 
fore the more necessary, and I trust neither of you will in that 
respect be deficient. With my best wishes for your success, 
health, and honour, I remain, dear Sir, your affectionate and 
most obedient servant." 

Accompanying this letter were the following instructions, the 
benevolent cautions contained in which, Franklin was subse- 
quently almost tempted to consider as savouring of too much 
moderation, when he heard of the burnings of Fairfield, and 
other towns in America. 

" 1. His majesty, having been pleased to grant some troops 
for a particular expedition, proposed to annoy our common 
enemy, in which the sea force under your command might have 
an opportunity of distinguishing itself, you are to receive on 



PAUL JONES. 153 

board your ships of war, and the other vessels destined for that 
purpose, the troops that shall present themselves to you, afford 
them such accommodations as shall be most proper for pre- 
serving their health, and convey them to such port or place as 
their commander shall desire to land them at. 

" 2. When the troops are landed, you are to aid by all means 
in your power, their operations, as they will be instructed in 
like manner, to aid and support those you may make with your 
ships, that so by this concurrence and union of your different 
forces, all that such a compounded strength is capable of, may 
be effected. 

" 3. You are, during the expedition, never to depart from 
the troops, so as not to be able to protect them, or to secure 
their retreat in case of a repulse ; and in all events you are to 
endeavour their complete re-embarkation on board the ships 
and transports mider your command when the expedition shall 
be ended. 

" 4. You are to bring to France all the English seamen you 
may happen to take prisoners, in order to complete the good 
work you already have made such progress in, of delivering by 
an exchange the rest of our countrymen now languishing in the 
jails of Great Britain. 

"5. As many of your officers and people have lately escaped 
from English prisons, either in Europe or America, you are to 
be particularly attentive to their conduct towards the prisoners 
which the fortune of war may throw into your hands, lest the 
resentment of the more than barbarous usage by the English in 
many places towards the Americans, should occasion a retalia- 
tion and imitation of what ought rather to be detested and 
avoided, for the sake of humanity, and for the honour of our 
country. 

" 6. In the same view, although the English have wantonly 
burnt many defenceless towns in America, you are not to fol- 
low this example, unless when a reasonable ransom is refused, 
in which case, your own generous feelings as well as this instruc- 
tion, will induce you to give timely notice of your intention, that 

19 



154 PAUL JONES. 

sick and ancient persons, women, and children, may be first 
removed." 

On the same day with Franklin, La Fayette wrote to Jones, 
approving of his measures, and regretting that he heard the 
cannon were promised to other people. He said that he wished 
the expedition to be soon over, as his return in the middle of 
summer would be useful to the common cause ; and he hoped 
every thing would be in readiness by the 7th of May. He did 
not wish, if it could be avoided, to put land troops on board of 
the Alliance, because disputes would occur between their officers 
and Captain Landais. As he was willing to distribute them in 
the other ships, it is plain that La Fayette, who was as discern- 
ing as he was chivalric, had some conception of the character of 
the captain of the Alliance ; a character, which in any attempt 
that may be made to throw light upon it by facts, will for ever 
amuse and perplex the thinking reader ; unless he comes soon 
to the conclusion, that Landais was not altogether sane in mind. 
But this solution is too devoid of ingenuity, to satisfy those who 
make the motives of eccentric individuals a study. 

In reply to Franklin, Jones said : " The letter I had the 
honour to receive from you to-day, together with your liberal and 
noble minded instructions, would make a coward brave. You 
have called up every sentiment of public virtue in my breast, 
and it shall be my pride and ambition, in the strict pursuit of 
your instructions, to deserve success. 

•' Be assured, that very few prospects could afford me so true 
a satisfaction as that of rendering some acceptable service to 
the common cause, and at the same time relieving from cap- 
tivity (by furnishing the means of exchange) our unfortunate 
fellow subjects from the hands of the enemy." 

And to La Fayette he wrote as follows : " So flattering and 
affectionate a proof of your esteem and friendship, has made an 
impression on my mind that will attend me while I live. This 
I hope to prove by more than words. Where men of fine feel- 
ings are concerned, there is seldom misunderstanding ; and I 
am sure I should do violence to my sensibility if I were capable 



PAUL JONES. 155 

of giving you a moment's pain by any part of my conduct. 
Therefore, without any apology, I shall expect you to point out 
my errors, when we are together alone, with perfect freedom, 
and I think I dare promise you your reproof shall not be lost. 

'* I have received from the good Dr. Franklin instructions at 
large, which do honour to his liberal mind, and which it will 
give me the truest satisfaction to execute. I cannot ensure 
success, but will endeavour to deserve it." 

On the 30th April, he informed M. Chaumont, that if a bat- 
tery of 28 good twelve pounders, with others of less calibre could 
be procured, he was willing to put to sea ; that he had on his 
muster roll 329 officers, seamen, and volunteer soldiers, and 
would not lie idle for want of men. He expressed his deep 
regret at the political disappointments his friend M. Garnier had 
met with. 

The proposed co-operation of La Fayette with Jones, was 
soon abandoned for reasons which the general history of the 
times easily furnishes. Spain was preparing to act wil^li France 
against England, and her hostile manifesto was delivered by 
her ambassador a few weeks subsequently. In the attitude in 
which Great Britain then stood, it was by no means chimerical 
to anticipate important results from the combined operations of 
the two fleets. A general invasion was projected ; forces were 
ordered to be raised in the northern provinces of France, and 
marched to the coast, and general officers were named to con- 
duct the grand enterprise. On the 22d May, La Fayette wrote 
to inform Jones of the change in the purposes of the ministry. 
He simply stated that political and military reasons had occa- 
sioned it, and added, " I am only to tell you, my good friend, 
how sorry I feel not to be a witness of your success, abilities, 
and glory." "What will be further determined about your 
squadron is yet uncertain, and the ministers are to consult with 
Dr. Franklin." In Franklin's letter to the committee of foreign 
affairs, written about the same time, he merely mentions that 
the marquis was not to go with Jones, " the plan having been 
a little changed." In a subsequent confidential letter, he speaks 



156 PAUL JONES. 

of the new project, as " the grand invasion." It will be seen, 
that Jones wrote under a partial, if not total misunderstanding 
of the causes, which led to a modilfication of the plan first pro- 
posed, in part of the following extract of his Journal for the 
king, though it was composed many years afterwards. 

" A person [M. Le Ray de Chaumont*] was appointed com- 
missary of the expense of the squadron, and unwisely entrusted 
with the secret of the expedition. The cannon had not arrived 
for the Bon Homme Richard, and she was in great haste mounted 
with a battery of indifferent twelve pounders. Six old fashioned 
long eighteen pounders were mounted in the gun-room ; and 
ports were cut to fight them six on one side. Thus, with the 
guns on the quarter-deck and forecastle, the Bon Homme 
Richard mounted forty guns ; and with the Alliance of thirty-six, 
the Pallas of thirty-two, the Cerf of eighteen, and the Vengeance 
of twelve, composed the little squadron. A crew was hastily 
procured for the Bon Homme Richard, from among the English 
prisoners, and by enlisting raw French peasants as volunteers. 
Captain Jones had not more than thirty Americans among the 
crew. In the Alliance, there had been a mutiny on the passage 
from America,! and the captain and officers were ready to cut 



* Interlined in his own hand writing. 

t By a resolution of Congress of May 29th, 1778, the new continental frigate, built 
at Salisbury, Mass. and then recently launched, was called the Alliance. It appears 
by a report of the Marine Committee, on the 29th April previous, that they considered 
Captain Landais, who was afterwards appointed her commander, " an experienced 
sea officer, and skilled in the construction of ships of war." The nature of the diffi- 
culties which took place on board the Alliance, referred to in the text, is not particu- 
larly explained. It may have arisen from the national or personal character of the 
captain, or from quarrels as to rank. Mr. Adams was to have returned in this vessel 
to America; and was on board of her when Jones wrote to him begging an explanation, 
if he could give one, of the misunderstanding which prevailed, and asking where the 
fault lay. The Minister of Marine otfered Mr. Adams a passage home, in the frigate 
with the new ambassador to the United States. Franklin wrote to Jones, " I am sorry 
for, and ashamed of the divisions on board the Alliance. I hope these commissions 
will enable you to compose them." The want of harmony on board of this ship, may 
have had some effect upon its strange movements, while nominally attached to 
Jones' squadron. 



PAUL JONES. 157 

one another's throats. The first and second lieutenants deserted. 
The Pallas, a merchant ship, had been built for the king, and 
hastily fitted at Nantes. The Vengeance was bought by the 
commissary, and fitted in the same manner. The Cerf, a fine 
cutter, was alone well fitted and manned. The commissary 
took upon himself the whole direction at L'Orient, and went 
far beyond the powers of a commissary ; but the secret was too 
big for him to keep. All Paris rang with the expedition from 
L'Orient ; and government was obliged to drop the plan, when 
the squadron lay ready for sea, and the troops ready to embark." 

The term commissary, as here employed, was technically 
inapplicable, whether in French or English, to the gentleman 
in question ; and is calculated to convey an erroneous impres- 
sion. M. Chaumont was the confidential agent of both govern- 
ments. His trust had in it nothing in common with that of a 
contractor, and his functions were in some measure diplomatic, 
as well as ministerial. He acted directly for M. de Sartine, to 
whom, as France furnished all the expense of the armament, 
he was alone responsible. Jones, therefore, used the word 
commissary inadvertently ; and having used it, his associations 
with the duties of such an officer, (he detested the whole genus,) 
led him into involuntary crimination of one of his best friends. 
When recruits and volunteers were brought from the adjacent 
seaports and the interior to L'Orient, Jones was inquiring 
every where for ships and cannon, and M. Chaumont was pur- 
chasing stores and vessels for the armament, preparations which 
occupied months. It would seem to have been unnecessary for 
the latter gentleman to have broken confidence, in order to put 
the by-standers in possession of a fact, of which they were 
already aware ; that the ships and warlike stores thus collected 
were to be used at sea. And there is little reason to doubt, 
that the destination of the armament was a subject of free con- 
versation and speculation. As we shall quote Jones' language 
literally, this explanation is due in this place. 

On the 10th and 14th June, M. Chaumont sent to Jones his 
official hints and suggestions, as to the government of the fleet. 



158 PAUL JONES. 

and the disposition of the prizes. He observed, that as the 
situation of the officers, who had accepted commissions from 
Congress to join the armament of the Bon Richard, might be 
in contradiction with the interest of their own ships, he was 
induced to request Jones to enter into an engagement with him, 
not to require from those vessels any services, not conformable 
to the orders such officers might have ; and not to make any 
change in the formation of their crews. He also requested 
that all prizes might be addressed to such consignees as he 
should point out, for the preservation of the interests of all 
concerned. 

By the orders of the minister, Jones was at this time employed 
in giving convoy to a fleet bound for Bordeaux, and other 
ports in the bay of Biscay, containing troops, stores, and other 
merchandise. He was also directed on his return, to drive the 
enemy's cruisers out of the bay. This service, he says in his 
Journal, he performed. On the night of June 20th, while the 
fleet lay to off" Rochefort, "the Bon Homme Richard and 
Alliance got foul of each other ; which carried away the B. H. 
R's head and bowsprit, and the Alliance's mizen-mast." This 
accident was allowed on all hands to have been owing to the 
clumsy management of the Alliance, but it was further supposed 
that the collision was not altogether unintentional on the part of 
Landais. Among the articles subsequently attested by the 
officers of the squadron, the first was, " that the captain of the 
Alliance did not take the steps in his power to prevent his ship 
from getting foul of the Bon Homme Richard, in the bay of 
Biscay; for, instead of putting his helm a-weather, and bearing 
up to make way for his commanding officer, (which was his 
duty,) he left the deck to load his pistols." The offence, how- 
ever, was visited upon the lieutenant of the Bon Homme 
Richard, who had the watch, and was broken by a court martial 
held shortly afterwards. Jones observes, that there were faults 
on both sides. 

On the 21st June, Jones sent the Cerf to reconnoitre two sail. 
She fell in with a sloop of 14 guns ; and after a warm engage- 



PAUL JONES. 159 

ment was obliged to abandon her prize, on the approach of a 
superior force, and went to L' Orient to refit. The next day 
three ships of war were discerned to windward. They bore 
down in order ; but finding the squadron prepared to receive 
them, escaped by superior sailing. A few days after, the Alliance 
and Pallas separated from the two other ships in a fog. On 
coming in sight of the road of Groix, the wind being contrary, 
Jones gave the Vengeance leave to make the best of her way in, 
and found himself, at the approach of night, near two large 
frigates. He steered for them for half an hour, to prepare for 
action, and then tacked to engage. When they saw this, the 
pursuers ran away ; and, as Jones says, " to his great mortifi- 
cation outsailed the Bon Homme Richard, and got clear."* 

Unapprised of the necessary delay which the repairs of the 
squadron would create, Franklin addressed to Jones, the same 
day on which he arrived at the Isle de Groix, the following 
instructions. 

" Being arrived at Groix, you are to make the best of your 
way with the vessels under your command to the West of 
Ireland, and establish your cruise on the Orcades, the Cape of 
Derneus, and the Dogger Bank, in order to take the enemy's 
property in those seas. 

" The prizes you may make, send to Dunkirk, Ostend, or 
Bergen, in Norway, according to your proximity to either of 
those ports. Address them to the persons M. de Chaumont 
shall indicate to you. 

" About the 15th of August, when you will have sufiiciently 



* The log book of the Bon Homme Richard has the following entry on the 30th 
June. " At half past 7, p. m. saw two sail bearing down upon us, one with a flag at 
each mast-head. Hove about and stood from them to get in readiness for action ; then 
hove mizen-topsail to the mast, down all stay-sails and up raizen-sail. Then they 
hove about and stood from us. Immediately we tacked ship and stood after them. 

" After which they wore ship and stood for us. Captain Jones, gentlemanlike, 
called all his officers, and consulted them whether they were willing to see them. 
They all said, Yes. Made sail after them ; but they, being better sailers than we, got 
from us. At 1, a. m. tacked ship." 



160 PAUL JONES. 

cruised in these seas, you are to make route for the Texel, 
where you will meet my further orders. 

" If by any personal accident you should be rendered unable 
to execute these instructions, the officer of your squadron next 
in rank is to endeavour to put them in execution." 

In the letter from Jones, giving an account of his proceedings, 
which crossed these instructions on the road, he said : "I have 
traversed the Golf de Gascogne, over and over, both within and 
without soundings, from half a degree to the southward of the 
Island of Bordeaux, to the Ras passage, in sight of Brest. I 
have fallen in with and chased various other ships and vessels, 
which I believe were enemies, but all such as I have been able to 
overtake, proved either Dutch, Spanish, or other neutral pro- 
perty." '• If the court is yet disposed to give me the ship, which 
they qX first offered, I think it possible in the present situation of 
my affairs to make a useful and honourable cruise that way, 
with the force now under my command, and afterwards to 
bring that ship out with the crew I now have." Jones was 
" still harping on my daughter." Though he expressed himself 
much satisfied with the martial spirit shown by his crew in this 
affair with the frigates, and was confident, " that if he had 
been able to get between them, according to his intention, he 
would have beaten them both together," still he found the old 
Indiaman a dull sailor, and provided with unsuitable ordnance. 
Franklin stated in reply : " I have no other orders to give ; for, 
as the court is at the chief expense, I think they have the best 
right to direct. I observe what you write about a change of 
the destination ; but when a thing has been once considered and 
determined on in council, they do not care to resume the con- 
sideration of it, having much business on hand, and there is not 
now time to obtain a reconsideration." He threw out, how- 
ever, the consoling intimation, that it had been hinted to him, * 
that " the intention of ordering the cruise to finish at the Texel, 
was with a view of getting out the Indien ; but this should be 
kept a secret." He confirmed absolutely the instructions of 
M. Chaumont ; and added the following significant postscript : 



PAUL JONES. 161 

" If it should fall in your way, remember that the Hudson's 
Bay ships are very valuable." 

On the 2d of July, the Alliance and Pallas arrived with an 
Irish brig laden with wine, &c. which they had captured, and 
the squadron went to L' Orient for repairs. The Pallas, Cerf, 
and Vengeance were ordered on a short cruise, from which they 
returned without effecting any thing of consequence. Mean- 
time Jones renewed his complaints against the communicative 
disposition of M. De Chaumont. The course we have adopted 
requires the insertion of the letter. 

" He has written to an officer under my command a whole 
sheet on the subject of your letter, and has even introduced 
more than perhaps was necessary to a person commanding in 
chief. I have also strong reasons to think that this officer is 
not the only improper person here to whom he has written to 
the same effect. This is surely a strange infatuation, and it 
is much to be lamented that one of the best hearts in the world 
should be connected with a mistaken head, whose errors can 
afford him neither pleasure nor profit, but may eflfect the ruin 
and dishonour of a man whom he esteems and loves. Believe 
me, my worthy sir, I dread the thoughts of seeing this subject 
too soon in print, as I have done several others of greater 
importance, with which he was acquainted, and which I am 
certain he communicated too early to improper persons, whereby 
very important services have been impeded and set aside." 

In a marginal note, in the hand writing of Jones, he says : 
" I found it in print before I reached Holland." At the present 
day, it would have been in type in a week. 

The Bon Homme Richard, on inspection, at L'Orient, was 
found too old for necessary alterations, and fit only for extem- 
porary service. The bowsprit was found to be sprung, which re- 
quired attention. The Alliance was also hove down and careened. 
" Notwithstanding," Jones wrote to Frankhn, " the little squad- 
ron will not be detained, so as to interfere with the execution of 
your orders. When we meet with the enemy's property of no 
great value, or that cannot be conveniently sent into ports, 

20 



^, 



162 PAUL JONES. 

would it not be proper to < sink, burn, or otherwise destroy' 
such property ? I have had such charge in my instructions from 
Congress; and it is, therefore, that I mention it now. I 
would also beg leave to ask, whether I may or may not attempt 
to avail myself of every opportunity that may seem to present 
itself to distress the enemy." In a marginal note, he says, " I 
have ever made this my study." 

On the 14th of this month, he wrote to M. Chaumont on 
matters purely of a business nature, but in a most cordial and 
affectionate strain ; proceeding with policy as he deemed, no 
doubt, upon his hypothesis, that the heart of that gentleman 
was good, though his mind was not strong. He concluded by 
saying : " I thank you, not as a matter of form, but as a man 
who really esteems himself honoured by your friendship, for the 
constant attention which you show to my honour, and to the 
American interest. I faithfully assure you, that nothing could 
make me so happy as to testify my regard for you, by render- 
ing some real honour to the American flag, and some real service 
to the best of kings. Thus much you may safely venture to 
say, when alone with the minister at Versailles." 

In pursuance of the desire of M. de Sartine, M. Chamillard 
de Varville was admitted to the command en second of the Bon 
Homme Richard. On the 19th, Franklin lengthened the cruise, 
at De Sartine's request, to the end of September, to give a longer 
time for finishing it at the Orcades. On the 26th, Jones wrote 
Franklin, that he had advices that the Jamaica fleet would sail 
homewards, escorted by a fifty gun ship and two frigates, and 
that he should certainly engage them if he fell in with them, 
though his ships would probably be too much cut up to prevent 
the escape of the convoy. He urged the convenience of attach 
ing the Monsieur frigate, a privateer, to his command, which 
had been spoken of when he was at Paris, and which would 
give him a superiority over the convoy. On the 28th, he wrote, 
in relation to the proceedings of a court martial which had been 
held for the trial of several alleged offences, on board the Bon 
Homme Richard. Notwithstanding the " martial spirit" shown 



PAUL JONES. 163 

by his seamen, in the affair with the two frigates, he observed a 
mutinous disposition among the Enghsh, " who remained on 
board from necessity, and not from choice," after he had been 
forbidden to enhst the French seamen. He had learned from 
FrankUn, that accounts of these insurrectionary symptoms had 
reached the ears of M. De Sartine, with whom he was not in 
immediate correspondence ; and was much annoyed by it. 
While the proceedings before the court martial were pending, 
the suggestions made by Jones to Franklin are creditable to his 
good sense. Two quarter-masters were charged with conspiracy 
at sea, against whom the evidence was strong. " Should any 
person," he says, " be condemned to death, I will suspend the 
execution of the sentence, until I have your orders on the subject. 
In the mean time, as I wish to give no offence in a foreign port, I 
submit to you, whether it would not be better to make this pro- 
ceeding known at Versailles. Should I depart from hence, 
before 1 receive your orders, if there be any sentence of death, I 
will leave the condemned in prison on shore ; and you may be 
assured that the court will proceed with due circumspection and 
lenity, as far as may be consonant with the rules of the service." 
The sentences of this court, however, except in the case of the 
lieutenant of the Bon Homme Richard, who was cashiered, as 
before mentioned, amounted only to whipping. 

Any further delay than that which repairs occasioned would 
have been particularly vexatious at this time, as in compliance 
with the minister's desire, Franklin would have given orders to 
the Alliance to sail on a separate cruise. One hiuidred and 
nineteen American prisoners had arrived in a cartel at Nantes, 
and M. Chaumont paid a visit to the seaboard to obtain a better 
crew for the Bon Homme Richard. On the eve of his depar- 
ture, he informed Franklin in a note, that it woidd probably be 
necessary to retard the sailing of that vessel, until she was more 
properly manned ; in which case M. De Sartine desired that 
Captain Landais might have orders to put to sea forthwith 
from L'Orient, to cruise on the north of Scotland until the end 
of September. 



164 PAUL JONES. 

The strange commander of the AlHance, if he did not insti- 
gate this order, would no doubt have been well pleased with its 
going into effect. What figure he would have cut upon the 
coasts, on his own account, cannot be conjectured. But the 
vjsit of M. Chaumont was in every respect unacceptable to 
Jones, who told the minister, " this second journey of M. Chau- 
mont was altogether unnecessary ; as I had, before his arrival 
at L'Orient, sent officers to Nantes to enlist Americans, and 
had also enlisted as many of the strangers as were willing to 
embark at L'Orient." 

The contents and date of a letter addressed to Jones' eldest 
sister about this time, which has been accidentally preserved, 
make us acquainted with a pleasing trait in his character, 
which should not be overlooked, though it here interrupts the 
current of the narrative. The letter is dated Cork, June 1st, 
and encloses a bill of exchange drawn for thirty pounds sterling 
on a person in Carlisle, in favour of Captain Pliance, a friend 
of Jones' relations, for whose use he had made the remittance. 
The drawee could not be heard of, and with similar remittances, 
which Jones had made from time to time, this failed in coming 
to the hands of those for whom it was destined. But the cir- 
cumstances, with many others, some of which will appear, 
proves that he never forgot or ceased to cherish those who were 
nearest to him in blood. In reply to a letter from his sister, 
Mrs. Taylor, at a subsequent period, informing him of the death 
of his mother and eldest sister, he says, " The loss of those 
dear friends is the more affecting to me, as they never received 
the remittances I intended for them, and as they had not, per- 
haps a true idea of my affection." 

The Monsieur, described as a fine privateer of forty guns, 
and the Grandville of fourteen, joined the squadron. Their 
captains, Jones says, " requested him to permit them to follow 
his motions, and share his fortune ; and offered to come under 
any obligation not to leave the squadron. But the cwnmissary 
thought fit to leave the privateers to act on the great scale of 
honour, and would hear of no obligation being taken from them." 



PAUL JONES. 165 

There can be little question, that M. Chaumont had no autho 
rity to give these vessels any other character than that which 
they possessed, nor had Jones any commissions to give their 
commanders. M. Chaumont was either instructed, or deemed 
it necessary, to require the commanders of the squadron to sign 
a paper, called a concordat, as intimated in a letter written by 
him two months before, which we have cited. Jones subse- 
quently complained, that it was imposed upon him at the 
moment of departure, and said he would have rejected it with 
indignation if offered at the beginning. It was the fruitful 
source of many bitter commentaries ; and a reference to it never 
failed to operate as an oestrum, exciting angry or sarcastic 
remark. It is to be observed, however, that having read it, he 
did sign it ; and that in his earliest letters to M. Chaumont 
after sailing, he made no allusion to it. By this instrument, 
the five captains, Jones, Landais, Cottineau, Varage, and Ricot, 
" composing a squadron to be commanded by the oldest officer 
of the highest grade, and so on in succession, in case of death 
or retreat," agreed, that, unless separated from the squadron 
by order of the minister, each should act only by virtue of 
the brevet which they should have obtained from the United 
States, whose flag was to be displayed. The division of prizes 
to the officers and crews was to be made according to the 
American laws ; but the proportion of each vessel* was to be 
regulated by the minister of the French marine and the 
American minister. A copy pf the American laws was to 
be annexed to the agreement, after having been certified by 
Jones. Where their provisions were inadequate, the matter 
was to be determined as above mentioned. The orders of the 
French minister of marine and of the American plenipotentiary 
were to be executed. The prizes were to be remitted to M. 



+ The date of the concordat is not fixed. But on the 13th August, the day before 
he sailed, Jones wrote to Franklin that he was persuaded he would think it unreason- 
able that the captain of the Vengeance should share equally with the captain of the 
Pallas, &c. He did not, therefore, object to this article. 



1G6 PAUL JONES. 

Le Ray de Chaumont, ivlio had furnished the expenses of the 
armament of the squadron, and who was to be requested not to 
give up the part of the prizes accruing, to all the crews, and to 
any individual of the squadron, but to their order, and to be 
answerable in his own name. Armed vessels, whether French 
or American, might be associated with the squadron by common 
consent, and have such proportion of the prizes, as the laws of their 
respective countries allowed. In case of the death of a com 
mander, he was to be replaced according to the order of the 
tableau ; with liberty to the person entitled, however, to remain 
in his own vessel and yield the vacancy to the next. In case 
of any accident happening to M. Varage, of the Cerf, he was to 
be replaced by his second in command, <fcc. 

On the face of these articles there appears nothing that does 
not seem plain and equitable. 

On the 10th of August, Jones issued his circular to the cap- 
tains of the squadron, directing them never to chase so as to 
lose company, and, if separated from the Con Homme Richard, 
to open their letters of rendezvous. On the 13th he addressed 
La Fayette, evidently under an erroneous impression as to the 
causes which had prevented the Major General from joining 
him. He mentioned that he had determined before receiving 
the last letter from him, to propose another project, which he 
was sure would have been adopted by La Fayette. He thanked 
him for the company and assistance of Messrs. Weibert and 
Chamillard. 

At day break on the 14th August, the squadron sailed from 
Groix, consisting of seven sail, including the two privateers. 
"Unfortunately," says Jones, "there was neither secrecy nor 
subordination. .Captain Jones saw his danger ; but his reputa- 
tion being at stake, he put all to the hazard." On the 18th, 
they " retook a large ship belonging to Holland, laden chiefly 
with brandy and wine, that had been destined from Barcelona 
for Dunkirk, and taken eight days before by an English priva- 
teer. The captain of the Monsieur, however, took out of this 



PAUL JONES. 167 

prize such articles as he pleased in the night, and the next day 
being- astern of the squadron and to windward, he actually wrote 
orders in his proper name, and sent away the prize under one of 
his own officers." The commodore, however, not understand- 
ing the propriety of this disposition o^die Verwagting, (the name 
of the Dutch ship,) sent her to L'Orient, with a letter to M. 
Chaumont ; and the Monsieur, after detaining the squadron for 
twenty-four hours, by lagging behind, separated from it 
altogether. On the 21st, a brigantine was taken, loaded with 
provisions, from Limerick to London, and sent to L'Orient. On 
the 23d, in sight of Cape Clear and the S. W. part of Ireland, 
Jones had the first specimen of what he was to expect from 
Captain Landais. We quote from his official account. 

•' That afternoon, it being calm, I sent some armed boats to 
take a brigantine that appeared in the N. W. quarter. Soon 
after, in the evening, it became necessary to have a boat ahead 
of the ship to tow, as the helm could not prevent her from laying 
Eicross the tide of flood, which would have driven us into a deep 
and dangerous bay, situated between the rocks on the south 
called the Skallocks, and on the north called the Blaskets. 
The ship's boats being absent, I sent my own barge ahead to 
tow the ship. The boats took the brigantine ; she was called 
the Fortune, and bound with a cargo of oil, blubber, and staves, 
from Newfoundland for Bristol ; this vessel I ordered to proceed 
immediately for Nantes or St. Malo. Soon after sunset the 
villains who towed the ship, cut the tow rope and decamped 
with my barge. Sundry shots were fired to bring them to, 
without eflfect; in the mean time the master of the Bon Homme 
Richard, without orders, manned one of the ship's boats, and 
with four soldiers pursued the barge in order to stop the de- 
serters. The evening was clear and serene, but the zeal of that 
officer, Mr. Cutting Lunt, induced him to pursue too far, and a 
fog which came on soon afterward prevented the boats from 
rejoining the ship, although I caused signal guns to be frequently 
fired. The fog and calm continued the next day till towards 
evening. In the afternoon, Captain Landais came on board 



168 PAUL JONES. 

the Bon Homme Richard and behaved towards me with great 
disrespect, affirming in the most indelicate manner and language, 
that I had lost my boats and people through my imprudence in 
sending boats to take a prize ! He persisted in his reproaches, 
though he was assured by Messrs. De Weibert and De Cha- 
millard, that the barge was towing the ship at the time of elope- 
ment, and that she had not been sent in pursuit of the prize. 
He was affronted, because I would not the day before suffer 
him to chase without my orders, and to approach the dangerous 
shore I have already mentioned, where he was an entire 
stranger, and where there was not sufficient wind to govern a 
ship. He told me he was the only American in the squadron, 
and was determined to follow his own opinion in chasing when 
and where he thought proper, and in every other matter that 
concerned the service ; and that if we continued in that situation 
three days longer, the squadron would be taken." This account 
of the behaviour of Landais on this occasion is confirmed, with 
immaterial variations, by several respectable officers present. 
His gestures were as violent and indecorous as his language. 
The declaration of Lieutenant Colonel Weibert, afterwards of 
the corps of American engineers, then Jones' Lieutenant, leads 
us to infer that this uninspired madman may have been exas- 
perated, by misunderstanding the Reproof valiant for the Lde 
direct. Colonel Weibert, says : " The commodore did not say 
to M. Landais, ' you lie,' but, ' it is an untruth,' [referring to 
the manner in which the boats had been lost,] ' which M. Lan- 
dais was pleased to interpret as a formal giving the lie ; who 
was never able to overcome his peevish, obstinate, turbulent, 
and ungovernable temper, which he constantly showed during 
the whole of the campaign." He adds that Landais rendered 
his insulting expressions in English immediately into French ; 
in order that M. Chamillard, who was present, might apprehend 
their import. As Jones could not find out the character of this 
p-eux chevalier at once, he certainly proved the sincerity of his 
professions by subjugating his anger to the great interest he had 
at heart. He must soon have begun to suspect that there was 



PAUL JONES. 169 

a crick in the captain's judgment. He was afterward induced 
to consider him a Major Longbow.* 

The Cerf was sent to reconnoitre the coast, and endeavour 
to recover the boats and people. After standing ofFand on the 
coast till the evening of the 26th, neither the Cerf nor the boats 
appeared. The Cerf, Jones says in his Journal, was seen by 
Mr. Lunt, the master, on the day she was sent to reconnoitre ; 
and he approached her gladly, " but that cutter then hoisting 
English colours and firing at the boat, the unhappy Mr. Lunt 
imagined himself mistaken, landed, and was made prisoner. 
Thus Captain Jones lost from the crew of the Bon Homme 
Richard, the master and another officer; with twenty of his 
best seamen. Mr. Lunt was reconducted to a wretched dun- 
geon in England, where he formerly had long experience of 
English cruelty, from whence, it is reported, he was at last 
relieved by death." The cutter was not subsequently found at 
the first or second rendezvous. She had returned to France ; 
and the Grandville having secured a prize, on thp 26th, followed 
her example. The evening of that day was very stormy ; and, 
against his own judgment, as he says, but in consequence of 
assertions made by Landais, he left a station where he would 
have preferred remaining a week longer. In his Journal for 
the King, he says, " it was his intention to cruise off the south 
west coast of Ireland for twelve or fifteen days, in order to inter- 
rupt the enemy's homeward bound East India ships, that he had 
been informed from England would return without convoy, and 
steer for that point of land. But Captain Landais of the 
Alliance began to speak and act as though he had not been 
under the command of Captain Jones ; and made great objec- 
tions to remaining on that coast, expressing apprehension, that 
the enemy would send a superior force." Jones made the 
signal for the course, and steered to the northward ; but Cap- 
tain Landais chose to alter his course two points by the compass. 



♦ See Appendix No. VIII. 
21 



170 PAUL JONES. 

on the same night, and was not seen again until the 31st, when 
he rejoined the squadion with a Letter of Marque, which he 
had taken, of 20 guns, bound from Liverpool for Jamaica, with 
a valuable cargo. He appeared in sight while Jones was giving 
chase to another Letter of Marque, off cape Wrath, which 
proved to be the Union, of 22 guns, from London for Quebec, 
with a cargo of great value ; consisting of sails, rigging, anchors, 
cables, <fec. for the enemy's vessels on the lakes. Neither of 
these vessels made any resistance. Owing to Landais hoisting 
American colours, though English were flying on board the Bon 
Homme Richard, the public despatches on board the Union 
were lost. Landais sent a quaint message, to know whether 
Jones or he should man the prize ; as, in the latter case, he 
would suffer no boat nor person from the Bon Homme Richard 
to go near her. Ridiculous as this was, Jones says he yielded 
to it for the sake of peace, and received the prisoners on board 
his ship, while the prize was manned from the Alliance. On 
the same afternoon, and on the next morning, Landais refused 
to obey Jones' signals, and on the 3d of September acted in 
direct opposition to his orders, in relation to the two prizes he 
had been ordered to bring to the rendezvous. He sent them to 
Bergen in Norway, where they were given up to the English 
by the Danish government. In the evening of the 4th, the com- 
modore sent for the captains to come on board of his ship, to 
consult on future operations. Landais refused to comply, and 
sent back several uncivil messages, and an extraordinary letter. 
Mr. Mease, the purser, a very gallant man, at first alone, and 
subsequently with Captain Cottineau and M. Chamillard, in vain 
went on board of the Alliance, to intercede with the doughty 
sea Achilles. He " spoke of Captain Jones in terms highly 
disrespectful and insolent ; and said he would see him on shore, 
when they must kill one or the other, <fec." On the night of 
the 6th, (in the words of the epitaph on a tablet erected to him 
in one of the New York churches,) ' il disparut.' A gale com- 
menced blowing on the afternoon of the 5th, which continued 



PAUL JONES. 171 

for some days, and Landais separated from his consorts with 
two small prizes which he had picked up. The Pallas and 
Vengeance alone remained with the Bon Homme Richard; and 
the winds continued contrary, so that land was not seen until 
the evening of the 13th, when the Cheviot hills in the south 
east of Scotland became visible. Jones proceeds to say in his 
Journal : " Though much weakened and embarrassed with 
prisoners, he was anxious to teach the enemy humanity, by 
some exemplary stroke of retaliation, and to relieve the remain- 
der of the Americans from captivity in England, as well as to 
make a diversion in the north, to favour a formidable descent 
which he then expected would have been made on the south 
side of Great Britain, under cover of the great combined fleet. 
He sent for the captains of the Pallas and Vengeance, and com- 
municated to them his intentions ; but after spending the whole 
night, all his arguments on the side of honour and humanity 
failed. He then spoke to their ruling passion, and showed them 
a large heap of gold, at the end of the prospect. He was now 
heard with attention ; and they entered \yarmly into his project, 
which was, to lay Leith, and perhaps Edinburgh, under a con- 
tribution." He was apprized that an armed ship of 20 guns 
and two or three fine cutters lay in Leith road ; and, ha^ he been 
alone, he says, " the wind being favourable, I would have pro- 
ceeded directly up the Firth, and must have succeeded ; as they 
lay there in a state of perfect indolence and security, which 
would have proved their ruin. Unfortunately for me, the Pallas 
and Vengeance were both at a considerable distance in the 
offing ; they having chased to the southward ; this obliged us 
to steer out of the Firth again to meet them." 
• The prospect of levying £200,0{X) upon the inhabitants 
of Leith having prevailed upon the French Commanders to 
assent to the enterprise, every order was given for taking the 
guard ship and cutters, and every disposition made for landing 
troops under Lieutenant Colonel Chamillard. The summons 
to the magistrates of Leith, and the capitulation they were to 



172 PAUL JONES. 

sign were prepared ;* but "so much time had been unavoidably 
spent in pointed remarks, and sage deliberations, that night, 
that the wind became contrary in the morning." 

The following note in his own hand writing, is subjoined to a 
copy of this summons. " N. B. The sudden and violent storm 
which arose in the moment when the squadron was abreast of 



* " The Honourable Captain Jones, Commander in Chief of the Ameri- 
can squadron now in Europe, on board the American ship of war 
the Bon Homme Richard, at anchor in the road of Leith, Septem- 
ber the — , 1779. 
" To the Worshipful the Provost of Leith, or, in his absence, to the 
Chief ]Magistrate who is now actually present and in authority there. 
" Sir — The British marine force that has been stationed here for 
the protection of your city and commerce, being now taken by the Amer- 
ican arms under my command, I have the honour to send you this by 
my officer. Lieutenant Colonel de Chamillard, who commands the 
vanguard of my troops. I do not wish to distress the poor inhabitants ; 
my intention is only to demand your contribution towards the reim- 
bursement which Britain owes to the much injured citizens of America. 
Savages would blush at the unmanly violation and rapacity that has 
marked the tracks of British tyranny in America, from which neither 
virgin innocence, nor helpless age has been a plea of protection or pity. 
" Leith and its port now lays at our mercy ; and did not the plea of 
humanity stay the hand of just retaliation, I should, without advertise- 
ment, lay it in ashes. Before I proceed to that stern duty as an officer, 
my duty as a man induces me to propose to you, by the means of a 
reasonable ransom, to prevent such a scene of horror and distress. For 
this reason I have authorized Lieutenant Colonel de Camillard to con- 
clude and agree with you on tlie terms of ransom, allowing you exactly 
half an hour's reflection before you finally accept or reject the terms 
which he shall propose. 

" If you accept the terms offered, within the time limited, you may 
rest assured that no farther debarkation of troops will be made, but 
that the re-embarkation of the vanguard will immediately follow, and 
thit the property of the citizens shall remain unmolested. 

"I have the honour to be, &c." 



PAUL JONES. 173 

Keith Island, (Inchkeith Island,) which forms the entrance of 
the road of Leith, rendered impracticable the execution of the 
foregoing project." Jones did not, however, abandon readily 
what he had so resolutely undertaken, notwithstanding he must 
have been aware, as was the fact, that the alarm had become 
general on the shore, and in the interior.* An express reached 



* The following extracts from English newspapers may not be uninteresting. 

From the London Chronicle of September 2d, 1779. 
" Yesterday an express arrived with an account, that the famous Paul Jones, (who 
some time since plundered the house of the Earl of Selkirk on the coast of Scotland, 
and endeavoured to set fire to the town of Whitehaven, and after an obstinate engage- 
ment took the Drake sloop of war) has made his appearance on our coasts with three 
ships of force under his command. Being in want of provisions and fresh water, he 
landed a number of men, who carried off a parcel of sheep and oxen, for which he 
bountifully paid the owners, and immediately weighed .anchor, without committing 
any sort of hostility on the inhabitants. The drift and intention of this adventurer is 
to intercept our linen ships, and to watch for some of the East India fleet, that are 
daily expected to touch at Cork. His orders, it seems, are to keep close to the shore, 
and look into our ports, to give intelligence of our situation to the united fleets. The 
above came express from Dublin to London, dated 28th of August, 1779." 

From the London Chronicle of September 12th, 1779. 
" The American squadron which sailed from Brest about the 15th July, under the 
command of Paul Jones, consists of one frigate of 40 guns, mounted on one deck, two 
32 gun frigates, two Salem privateers of 18 and 20 guns, and a tender of 10 guns. The 
purpose of this squadron is to intercept the victuallers from Cork for North America. 
They have already taken two provision ships to New York, several trading vessels, 
and have much alarmed the coasts of Ireland." 

From the same paper of September lith, 1779. 
" Extract of a letter from Cork, August 25th, 1779. — We have this morning received 
an express from Tralee, acquainting us that the coast officer at Inveragh had advised 
them, that on the 23d, in the morning, seven men landed there from an open boat, 
who said they had escaped the preceding night, from a ship belonging to the squadron 
of Paul Jones, which sailed from France on the 10th instant, where they had supplied 
themselves with a large quantity of combustibles. They had taken four prizes, one 
of which was called the May Flower, bound to London. At one o'clock the same day, 
17 men more landed at that place, supposed to be in pursuit of the above seven. The 
squadron lay at the Skellix, in full view, and the country was in an uproar, when the 
advices came away. The first men who landed, said, tliat Jones' intention was to 
scour the coast, and burn as many places as he could. There were anumber of French 
on board. 



174 PAUL JONES. 

Edinburgh on the 15th, announcing that three strange ships 
were seen off Eyemouth on the afternoon of the preceding day ; 
and that a ship, supposed to mount 40 or 50 guns, had been 
seen off Dunb9,r. At 5 p. m. on the 15th, they were distinctly 
seen from Edinburgh, saiUng up the Frith of Forth ; but whether 
they were French vessels, or the squadron of Paul Jones, was 
not ascertained. Batteries were hastily erected at Leith, and 
the trades petitioned for arms, which were supplied from the 
castle of Edinburgh. So runs the oft told story which I tran- 
scribe. Jones says : "We continued working to windward up 
the Frith without being able to reach the road of Leith, till on 
the morning of the 17th, when, being almost within cannon shot 
of the town, having every thing in readiness for a descent, a 
very severe gale of wind came on, and being directly contrary, 
obliged us to bear away, after having in vain endeavoured for 
some time to withstand its violence. The gale was so severe, 
that one of the prizes that had been taken on the 14th sunk to 
the bottom, the crew being with difficulty saved. As the alarm 
by this time had reached Leith, by means of a cutter that had 
watched our motions that morning, and as the wind continued 
contrary, (though more moderate in the evening,) I thought it 



" Dnblia, August 27th. — I am directed forthwith to make this intelligence known in 
the most extensive manner, that all persons, particularly those resident on the coast, 
may be on their guard to repel any hostility. 

" By order of the Commissioners, 

" Jos. L'ESTRANGE, Dcp. Coll." 

From the Hibernian Journal of September 1st. 
" Custom House, Dublin, August 27th. — Sir Richard Herron, by direction of his 
Excellency the Lord Lieutenant, has communicated to the board intelligence which 
his Excellency has received, that on the 24th instant, at 1 o'clock, seven men landed 
at Ballinskellix in the county of Kerry, from a frigate called the Bon Homme, com- 
manded by Paul Jon6s, mounting 40 guns, having in company the Alliance of 36, the 
Pallas of 32, the Revenge of 12, the Le Grand of 14, and a large Cutter of 18 guns, 
having on board in all about 2,000 men. The people imagine that Jones' intentions 
are to scour the coast, and burn some principal towns, having a quantity of combusti- 
bles shipped on board the vessels in France. 

"Jos. L'EsTRANGE, Dep. Coll." 



PAUL JONES. 175 

impossible to pursue the enterprise with a good prospect of suc- 
cess ; especially as Edinburgh, where there is always a number 
of troops, is only a mile distant from Leith ; therefore, I gave 
up the project." 

An incident which showed how much the spectators on shore 
were yet in the dark, occurred on the 16th, which Jones thus 
relates in his Journal : " A member of the British Parliament 
sent off a boat from the north shore, to give information that 
he was greatly afraid of Paul Jones, and begging for some 
powder and shot. Captain Jones set his fears to rest, by send- 
ing him a barrel of powder with a kind message, but had no 
suitable shot." The principal messenger he detained, as pilot 
for the road of Leith. It appears that he also employed the 
captain of a small collier, taken on the 15th, to assist him by 
his knowledge of the coast ; and when he afterwards abandoned 
the enterprise, he gave this man up his vessel, " on account of 
his attachment to America, and the faithful information and 
important services he rendered, by his general knowledge of 
the east coast of Britain. I had given orders to sink the old 
vessel, when the tears of this honest man prevailed over my 
intention."* 



* The following notes are from the Edinburgh Life. " This ' honest man,' but very 
bad patriot, was Andrew Robertson, master of the Friendship, of Kirkcaldy. After 
being for two days kept on board the Bon Homme Richard, and having his ship given 
up to him for ' faithful information,' and ' important services,' he pretended that 
Commodore Jones had put it to ransom. This, indeed, was the face necessary to put 
on the affair ; but the Commodore had previously declared that he had no authority to 
ransom prizes. The ransom-passport is amusing, from its date, and the circumstances 
under which it was granted. It is written by a French marine officer, who probably 
acted as the secretary of Commodore Jones, but is signed by himself. 
" ' L'Honorable Capitaine John Paul Jones, Ecuyer, commandant en chef i'escadre 

Americaine actuellement en Europe, 
" ' A tons ceux qui ces presentes verront, specialement les sujets de la France : 

" ' Je certifie par le present passeport, que le vaisseau Friendship, commande par 
Andre Robertson, du port de Kirkcaldy, et venant du dit lieu pour aller k Riga, a ete 
pris par I'escadre Americaine que je commande, et qu'il est ransonne : C'est pour- 
quoi je prie et requiers tons les sujets de la France et de TAmerique, de laisser libre- 



176 PAUL JONES. 

Thus were the good citizens of Leith preserved from the 
necessity of opening their coffers, when two tacks more would 
have brought Jones along side the enemy in the road. He 
would not yet give up the design of effeieting some enterprise of 
pith upon the coast. He treated the humours of the wind, as 
policy and necessity compelled him to treat those of his absent 
associate, Landais ; and, as soon as the gale abated, he en- 
deavoured to prevail on the Captains of the Pallas and Ven- 
geance to co-operate. But these gentlemen did not like the 
" glory" they had got, the gale, or the preparation on shore. 
It is surmised by the writer of Jones' Life, pubhshed in Edin- 
burgh, that he had designs upon Hull or Newcastle. It is, 
however, a mere matter of conjecture. M. Cottineau told him, 
that a superior force would be sent against him ; and that, if he 
continued two days longer on the coast, they would all be taken. 
Being aware, by some means, which Jones ascribed to the com- 

li ,\'nAr. 

ment passer le dit vaisseau Friendship, et continuer son voyage, sans le troubler en 
fafon quelconque. 

" ' Donne k la mer k bord du Bon Homme Richard, le dix-sept Septembre, mil sept 
cent soixante dix-neuf. 

" ' J. Paul Jones.' " 

" The prodigious sensation caused by the appearance of the squadron of Paul Jones 
in the Frith of Forth is hardly yet forgotten on the coast of Fife. There are various 
accounts of the manner in which this daring attempt was defeated. The 17th Sep- 
tember, when Jones advanced to Leith, happened to be a Sunday. His ship, the 
Bon Homme Richard, stood at times so near the northern shores as to be distinctly 
seen by the crowds assembled on the beach, and on the commanding heights in the 
neighbourhood. At one time the Bon Homme Richard was not more than a mile from 
Kirkcaldy, a thriving and wealthy seaport. The alarm was naturally very great in 
that town ; and the Rev. Mr. Shirra, a worthy and very eccentric dissenting clergy- 
man, remarkable for his quaint humour, instead of holding forth in the church as at 
ordinary times, where on this day he would have had but a thin audience, repaired to 
the fine level sandy beach of Kirkcaldy, and soon attracted a very numerous congre 
gation. Here he prayed most fervently and earnestly, with that homely and familiar 
eloquence by which his sermons and prayers were distinguished, that the enterprise 
of ' the piratical invader Paul Jones might be defeated.' For once, it may be believed, 
the hearts of a congregation went with their minister. That violent gale, so much 
lamented by Paul Jones, suddenly arose ; the alleged consequence of Mr. Shirra's 



PAUL JONES 177 

municativeness of M. Chaumont, of the limitation of the cruise, 
and its termination at the Texel, one of the captains informed a 
lieutenant of the Bon Homme Richard, that " they would leave 
the commodore if he did not agree to steer for the port of destina- 
tion." Setting aside the question of subordination, the gallantry 
of these gentlemen is not to be impeached. They felt like men 
attacking in the dark with a comparatively ridiculous force, a 
fortress, the strength of which they had reason to suppose was 
great. Jones knew the weakness of some of the outworks ; 
but he had not yet had opportunities to convince them of his 
extraordinary shrewdness, local information, and capacity to 
execute designs, which, to them appeared visionary. Their 
education, (independent of their national feeling, involving per- 
sonal and professional pride, not unallied to captious jealousy,) 
had been probably selon les regies. Jones had educated himself, 
as to detail ; and had learned from Compte D'Orvilliers the 



powerful intercession. Such was long the popular belief. When, in after periods, 
this good old man was questioned on the subject, and complimented on the prevailing 
spirit of his prayer, which had so opportunely raised the wind that blew off Paul Jones, 
his usual reply, disclaiming the full extent of the compliment, was, ' I prayed — but 
the Lord sent the wind.' '' 

[I have not the work of Mr. Henderson, a tourist, who explored 
Scotland, England, and Wales, and related the above anecdote. In 
an extract from it, in Mr. Sherburne's Collections, he says, the incident 
took place in the preceding year, when Jones visited Whitehaven, from 
which he went round into the Frith of Forth ; but as Jones did not go 
there, at that time, the tourist is in error.] 

' A gentleman writing shortly afterwards from Amsterdam, to his friend in Leith, 
says : ' You may count it a very fortunate circumstance that this gentleman (Commo- 
dore Jones) was prevented from hurting you, when he was in your Frith, by a strong 
westerly mnd, and the springing of a mast, as, in a conversation I had with him in this 
city, he assured me that his intention was to seize the shipping in the harbour, and to 
set fire to such as he could not carry oft". He seemed to be well acquainted with the 
coast, and knew' (thanks to ' honest' Andrew Robertson !) 'that there was no force to 
oppose him.' Jones is described at this time, by those who saw him, as being ' dressed 
in the American uniform, with a Scotch bonnet, edged with gold, as of a middling sta- 
ture, stern countenance, and swarthy complexion.' " 

22 



178 PAUL JONES. 

duties of a commander of great fleets. With his force at that 
time, provided he did not contravene the laws of Congress, his 
own moral sense, or what would seem justifiable in the eyes 
of Dr. Franklin, he was not particular as to the manner in 
which he " retaliated" upon the enemy. He found it, however, 
necessary to yield to the opposition of the French commanders. 
In his official account, he says : " I am persuaded even now, 
that I would have succeeded ; and to the honour of my young 
officers, I found them as ardently disposed to the business as I 
could desire ; nothing prevented me from pursuing my design 
but the reproach that would have been cast upon my character, 
as a man of prudence, had the enterprise miscarried. It would 
have been said, " was he not forewarned by Captain Cottineau 
and others ?" 

Many coasters and colliers were taken, several of which were 
sunk, by the squadron, in the Frith of Forth. Much damage 
was done to the coal trade ; but it is unnecessary to weary the 
reader with particulars. Captain Cottineau undertook to 
ransom a sloop, though Jones had told him previously he had 
no authority to ransom prizes. It was probably an excusable 
act ; and the commodore does not subsequently dwell upon it. 

And now, after having agonized through a period of fifteen 
months, during which hope was not only deferred, but crucified 
in each lunar cycle ; after having set sail with a force that 
mocked all the promises made to him, in an old ship, fit only for 
a great sacrifice by which her rotten timbers might be eternized ; 
after having been abandoned by half of his squadron, and having 
taken a few prizes, of which, the most valuable had been lost 
by disobedience and caprice ; Captain .Tones was making for 
the Texel, in that frame of mind which epic poetry may attempt 
to shadow forth, but which heroic projectors of original enter- 
prises, who have been foiled by the weakness of their agents 
and the ever varying elements, can alone understand. He felt, 
like Buonaparte, (I know not whether the apologetical parva 
componere magnis be indispensable,) that he ought to have sue- 



PAUL JONES. 179 

ceeded. He had not, however ; and as no renown awaits the 
unsuccessful, his spirits must have been agitated and depressed 
— when glory " fell in his way, and he found it." 

The battle between the Bon Homme Richard and th? 
Serapis, must always be told to disadvantage, if not in the Words 
of the conqueror. It was fought on the evening and in the 
night of September 23d, under a bright and beautiful harvest 
moon, and its issue awaited by multitudes, (thousands it is said,) 
who watched the engagement from the shore. The remark 
often made, that it has no parallel in the history of naval en- 
gagements, has no exception of which we are aware, if restricted 
to those between ships of civilized nations. The official account 
of Jones follows. 

" On the 21st, we saw and chased two sail off Flamborough 
Head ; the Pallas chased in the N. E. quarter, while the Bon 
Homme Richard, followed by the Vengeance, chased in the S. 
W. ; the one I chased, a brigantine collier in ballast, belonging 
to Scarborough, was soon taken, and sunk immediately after- 
wards, as a fleet then appeared to the southward. This was 
so late in the day, that I could not come up with the fleet before 
night ; at length, however, I got so near one of them as to force 
her to run ashore between Flamborough Head and the Spurn. 
Soon after I took another, a brigantine from Holland, belonging 
to Sunderland, and at daylight the next morning, seeing a fleet 
steering towards me from the Spurn, I imagined them to be a 
convoy bound from London for Leith, which had been for some 
time expected. One of them had a pendant hoisted, and 
appeared to be a ship of force. They had not, however, 
courage to come on, but kept back, all except the one which 
seemed to be armed, and that one also kept to the windward, 
very near the land, and on the edge of dangerous shoals, where 
I could not with safety approach. This induced me to make a 
signal for a pilot, and soon afterwards two pilots' boats came 
off". They informed me that a ship that wore a pendant was 



180 PAUL JONES. 

an armed merchantman, and that a king's frigate lay there in 
sight, at anchor, within the Humber, waiting to take under 
convoy a number of merchant ships bound to the northward. 
The pilots imagined the Bon Homme Richard to be an English 
ship of war, and consequently communicated to me the private 
signal which they had been required to make. I endeavoured 
by this means to decoy the ships out of the port ; but the wind 
then changing, and with the tide, becoming unfavourable for 
them, the deception had not the desired effect, and they wisely 
put back. The entrance of the Humber is exceedingly difficult 
and dangerous, and as the Pallas was not in sight, I thought it 
imprudent to remain off the entrance ; therefore steered out 
again to join the Pallas off Flamborough Head. In the night 
we saw and chased two ships until three o'clock in the morning, 
when, being at a very small distance from them, I made the 
private signal of reconnoissance, which I had given to each 
captain before I sailed from Groix : one half of the answer only 
was returned. In this position both sides lay to till daylight, 
when the ships proved to be the Alliance and the Pallas. 

" On the morning of that day, the 23d, the brig from Holland 
not being in sight, we chased a brigantine that appeared laying 
to, to windward. About noon, we saw and chased a large ship 
that appeared coming round Flamborough Head, from the 
northward, and at the same time I manned and armed one of 
the pilot boats to send in pursuit of the brigantine, which now 
appeared to be the vessel that I had forced ashore. 8oon after 
this, a fleet of forty-one sail appeared off Flamborough Head, 
bearing N. N. E. This induced me to abandon the single ship 
which had then anchored in Burlington Bay ; I also called back 
the pilot boat, and hoisted a signal for a general chase.* When 



* This pilot boat contained sixteen of the best hands on board the Bon Homme 
Richard, well armed, under the command of Mr. Henry Lunt, the second Lieutenant. 
She did not pay ready attention to signals, which obliged Jones to remain to windward 
some time after he had made the signals to chase the fleet. When the Serapis and 
Countess of Scarborough stood from the shore, Jones crowded all sail to overtake 



PAUL JONES. 181 

the fleet discovered us bearing down, all the merchant ships 
crowded sail towards the shore. The two ships of war that 
protected the fleet at the same time steered from the land, and 
made the disposition for battle. In approaching the enemy, I 
crowded every possible sail, and made the signal for the line of 
battle, to which the Alliance showed no attention. Earnest as 
I was for the action, I could not reach the commodore's ship 
until seven in the evening,* being then within pistol shot, when 
he hailed the Bon Homme Richard. We answered hira by 
firing a whole broadside. 

" The battle being thus begun, was continued with unremit- 
ting fury. Every method was practised on both sides to gain 
an advantage, and, rake each other ; and I must confess that 
the enemy's ship, being much more manageable than the Bon 
Homme Richard, gained thereby several times an advantageous 
situation, in spite of my best endeavours to prevent it. As I 
had to deal with an enemy of greatly superior force, I was under 



them, leaving the Vengeance to windward, with orders to bring down the pilot boat as 
fast as possible, and tell Lieutenant Lunt to board the Bon Homme Richard, and 
enter the rnen on the left side, after the action was begun, if he could not previously 
overtake her. The Vengeance was ordered to do what she could, either by assisting 
in the battle, or taking and destroying the merchant ships.. She, however, attempted 
nothing against the convoy and did not come into the action. The pilot boat did not 
approach the Bon Homme Richard, until after the battle was ended. So that, with 
the men lost on the coast of Ireland, and sent away in the prizes, Jones was weakly 
manned, and thinly officered. — Journal for the King. Lieutenant Lunt, says in his 
certificate, that he could not approach the B. H. R. until the action was raging ; when, 
it being night, he did not think it prudent to go alongside. 

* " As soon as it was night, the enemy tacked, and .steered with full sail toweirds 
the shore. . Captain Jones, seeing this motion by the help of his night glass, (for the 
moon was not yet risen,) made the necessary disposition, and altered his course to get 
between the enemy and the land. The captain of the Pallas, seeing tht Bon Homme 
Richard alter her course, concluded that the crew had revolted, and killed Captaia 
Jones. This idea had long prevailed in the squadron, and the Pallas in consequence 
hauled close by the wind. Captain Jones found the Alliance lying to, out of cannon 
shot, on the enemy's weather quarter. The enemy, having every sail set, would have 
escaped and got under Scarborough castle, had not Captain Jones crossed the bow of 
the Serapis, and begun the action within pistol shot." — Joumalforthe King. 



182 PAUL JONES, 

the necessity of closing with him, to prevent the advantage 
which he had over me in point of manoeuvre. It was my 
intention to lay the Bon Homme Richard athwart the enemy's 
bow ; but as that operation required great dexterity in the 
management of both sails and helm, and some of our braces 
being shot away, it did not exactly succeed to my wish. The 
enemy's bowsprit, however, came over the Bon Homme Rich- 
ard's poop by the mizen-mast, and I made both ships fast 
together in that situation,* which, by the action of the wind on 
the enemy's sails, t forced, her stern close to the Bon Homme 
Richard's bow, so that the ships lay square alongside of each 
other, the yards being all entangled, and the cannon of each 
ship touching the opponent's.^ When this position took place, it 
was eight o'clock, previous to which the Bon Homme Richard 
had received sundry eighteen-pound shots below the water, and 
leaked very much. My battery of twelve-pounders, on which 
I had placed my chief dependence, being commanded by Lieu- 
tenant Dale and Colonel Weibert, and manned principally with 
American seamen and French volunteers, was entirely silenced 
and abandoned. As to the six old eighteen-pounders that 
formed the battery of the lower gun-deck, they did no service 



* "Mr. Stacy" (the acting master,) " not having returned with the hawser, Captain 
Jones with his own hands made fast to the mizen-mast of the B. H. R. the ropes that 
hung from the enemy's bowsprit." — Journal for the King.^' 

t " The Captain of the Serapis, imputing the position of the two ships to accident, 
let fall an anchor from the larboard bow ; fearing that Captain Jones would rake him, 
and expecting to get disentangled, and thereby recover his superiority." — lb. See also 
Lieutenant Dale's account, post, 

t " Here the enemy attempted to board the Bon Homme Richard, but were deterred 
from it, on finding Captain Jones with a pike in his hand at the gangway, ready to 
receive them. They imagined he had, as they said, ' a large corps de reserve ;' which 
was a fortunate mistake ; as no man took up a pike but himself" — Journal for the King. 
Captain Pearson speaks in his official account, of an attempt to board, at a later period 
of the action ; after the carpenter had called for quarter. The boarders returned, say- 
ing they had discovered a superior number, laying under cover, with pikes in their 
hands, ready to receive them. Probably both commanders refer to the same incident 
and the concealed men, were the imaginary corps de reserve. 



PAUL JONES. 183 

whatever, except firing eight shot in all. Two out of three of 
them burst at the first fire, and killed almost all the men who 
were stationed to manage them. Before this time, too, Colonel 
de Chamillard, who commanded a party of twenty soldiers on 
the poop, had abandoned that station after having lost some of 
his men. I had now only two pieces of cannon, (nine-pounders,) 
on the quarter-deck, that were not silenced, and not one of the 
heavier cannon was fired during the rest of the action. The 
purser, M. Mease, who commanded the guns on the quarter- 
deck, being dangerously wounded in the head, I was obliged to 
fill his place, and with great difliculty rallied a few men, and 
shifted over one of the lee quarter-deck guns, so that we after- 
wards played three pieces of nine-pounders upon the enemy. 
The tops alone seconded the fire of this little battery, and held 
out bravely during the whole of the action, especially the main- 
top, where Lieutenant Stack commanded. I directed the fire 
of one of the three cannon against the main-mast, with double- 
headed shot, while the other two were exceedingly well served 
with grape and canister shot, to silence the enemy's musketry 
and clear her decks, which was at last effected. The enemy 
were, as I have since understood, on the instant of calling for 
quarter, when the cowardice or treachery of three of my under- 
officers induced them to call to the enemy. The English com- 
modore asked me if I demanded quarter, and I having an- 
swered him in the most determined negative, they renewed the 
battle with double fury. They were unable to stand the deck ; 
but the fire of their cannon, especially the lower battery, which 
was entirely formed of ten-pounders, was incessant ; both ships 
were set on fire in various places, and the scene was dreadful 
beyond the reach of language. To account for the timidity of 
my three under-officers, I mean, the gunner, the carpenter, and 
the master-at-arms, I must observe, that the two first were 
slightly wounded, and, as the ship had received various shot 
under water, and one of the pumps being shot away, the car- 
penter expressed his fears that she would sink, and the other 
two concluded that she was sinking, which occasioned the gun- 



184 PAUL JONES. 

ner to run aft on the poop, without my knowledge, to strike the 
colours. Fortunately for me, a cannon ball had done that 
before, by carrying away the ensign-staff; he was therefore 
reduced to the necessity of sinking, as he supposed, or of calling 
for quarter, and he preferred the latter. 

*' All this time the Bon Homme Richard had sustained the 
action alone, and the enemy, though much superior in force, 
would have been very glad to have got clear, as appears by 
their own acknowledgments, and by their having let go an 
anchor the instant that I laid them on board, by which means 
they would have escaped, had I not made them well fast to the 
Bon Homme Richard. 

*' At last, at half past nine o'clock, the Alliance appeared, and 
I now thought the battle at an end ; but, to my utter astonish- 
ment, he discharged a broadside full into the stern of the Bon 
Homme Richard.* We called to him for God's sake to forbear 



* In the Journal for the King, it is said, that wlien the Alliance appeared for the 
first time, after the beginning of the action, she fired a broadside with grape shot " into 
the law of tlie Bon Homme Richard, and the stern of the Serapis, which then made 
but one small abject." Jones alludes in the text to her second appearance, when, after 
Landais had paid a visit to Captain Cottineau, who had captured the Pallas, at the 
urgent request of the latter, that he would either go to assist the B. H. R, or remain to 
take care of the prize, he " got into a position to rake with a second broadside the Bon 
Homme Richard and Serapis ; the first in the stern, the other in the bow." It was then 
they cried out to him for God's sake to stop, &c. "Jones begged Landais to cease 
firing, or to lay the Bon Homme Richard along side, and assist with some men from 
the Alliance. He disobeyed. Having passed along the off side of the B. H. R. he 
was again absent for some time, and then returned, in a position to rake her the third 
time. He discharged this last broadside into the stern of the Serapis, and head of the 
Bon Homme Richard." — Journal for the King. Captain Pearson speaks in general 
terms of the Alliance sailing round, during the whole action, and raking him 
fore and aft, and eventually determining him to strike, by coming across his stern 
and pouring in a broadside. The weight of evidence is, that the Alliance fired 
only three broadsides altogether, within gun shot. The charges against Landais, 
from 13 to 21 inclusive, well attested by all the officers on board the Bon Homme 
Richard, and corroborated by the Captains of the Pallas and Vengeance, and by Lieu- 
tenant Lunt, who was in the pilot boat, confirm the above statement. The 18th states, 
that " he never passed on the oft'side of the Serapis, nor could that ship bring a gun to 
bear on the Alliance, at any time during the engagement." Captain Pearson only speaks 
of being " raked," and having a broadside poured into his stern. The shot received 



PAUL JONES. 185 

firing into the Bon Homme Richard ; yet they passed along the 
off side of the ship, and continued firing. There was no possi- 
bihty of his mistaking the enemy's ship for the Bon Homme 
Richard, there being the most essential difference in their 
appearance and construction. Besides, it was then full moon 
light, and the sides of the Bon Homme Richard were all black, 
while the sides of the prize were all yellow. Yet, for the greater 
security, I showed the signal of our reconnoissance, by putting 
out three lanterns, one at the head, another at the stern, and 
the third in the middle, in a horizontal line. Every tongue 
cried that he was firing into the wrong ship, but nothing avail- 
ed ; he passed round, firing into the Bon Homme Richard's 
head, stern, and broadside, and by one of his volleys killed 
several of my best men,* and mortally wounded a good officer 
on the forecastle only.t My situation was really deplorable ; 
the Bon Homme Richard received various shot under water 
from the Alliance ; the leak gained on the pumps, and the fire 
increased much on board both ships. Some officers persuaded 
me to strike, of whose courage and good sense I entertain a 
high opinion. My treacherous master-at-arms let loose all my 
prisoners without my knowledge, and my prospects became 
gloomy indeed.! I would not, however, give up the point. 



by the Bon Homme Richard, on the offside, inust have come from the Alliance. The 
fact of the Alliance firing into the Bon Homme Richard, is also attested by the old log- 
book of the Bon Homme Richard, in the possession of Mr. George Napier, Advocate, 
in Edinburgh. 

* Agreeably to report. Note by Jones : " Tlie furious cannonade from the upper 
and lower batteries of the Serapis, occasioned many who had been skulking below in 
the Bon Homme Richard, to come on d£ck. They were exposed to the grape shot of 
the Alliance while the enemy's men were under cover. It was, therefore, difficult to 
tell how many men on board the B. H. R. were killed and wounded by the shot from 
the Alliance." — Journal for the King. It was attested by half a dozen officers, that 
Landais said, next morning, he had raked with grape shot, which he knew would scatter. 

t So in two different MS. copies, and three in print. He means, the only efficient 
officer on the forecastle. 

t " This must have ruined Captain Jones, had not the prisoners been terrified out of 
their senses. Captain Jones availed himself of their fears, and placed them to work 
the pumps." — Journal for the King. 

23 



186 PAUL JONES. 

The enemy's main-mast began to shake,* their firing decreased 
fast, ours rather increased, and the British colours were struck 
at half an hour past ten o'clock.! 

" This prize proved to be the British ship of war the Serapis, 
a new ship of forty-four guns, built on the most approved con- 
struction, with two complete batteries, one of them of eighteen- 
pounders, and commanded by the brave Commodore Richard 
Pearson. I had yet two enemies to encounter, far more formi- 
dable than the Britons, I mean, fire and water. The Serapis 
was attacked only by the first, but the Bon Homme Richard 
was assailed by both ; there was five feet water in the hold, and 
though it was moderate from the explosion of so much gun- 



* It went by the board, Captain Pearson says, just as he was striking. Jones says the 
same. Jones notices it as very remarkable, how well the three light quarter-deck 
guns were served during the whole action, and the confusion that ensued when the 
water was gaining below, the ships alternately catching fire from each other, the 
Alliance firing at the Bon Homme Richard, and the prisoners set loose. " He got one 
of the ofFguns over soon after the Alliance raked the first time, but could never muster 
strength sufficient to bring over the other." In the clear moon light, the enemy's 
mast being painted yellow, the flames of the main shrouds, &c. made the main-mast a 
distinct mark. Captain Jones took aim at it with double-headed shot. 

\ " There was no occasion for a boat or bridge between the two ships. Captain 
Pearson stepped on board the Bon Homme Richard, and delivered up his sword to 
Captain Jones, who returned it to him, because he had bravely used it. He then 
heard, and the next morning saw, with astonishment, the inferior force and mangled 
condition of the Bon Homme Richard." — Journal for the King. Mr. Goldsborough, 
in his Naval Chronicle, p. 21, retails the following ridiculous anecdote : 

" When Captain Pearson was about delivering up his sword to Captain Jones, he 
observed, ' I cannot, sir, but feel much mortification at the idea of surrendering my 
sword, to a man who has fought me with a rope round his neck.' Captain Jones re- 
ceived his sword, but immediately returned it, with the remark, ' you have fought 
gallantly, sir, and I hope your king will give you abetter ship.' " 

Captain Pearson was a gentleman, as well as a brave officer. Though it appears 
by his autographic notes, that in ' reading and writing' he was not as well taught as 
Jones, he would have been guilty of no such nonsense as is above charged to him. 
Had he been so, Jones would probably have given the sword to the man at his elbow, 
and interchanged no superfluous compliments with his vanquished customer. Such 
absurdities should not be a part of what is called, "The Naval Chronicle of the 
United States." 



PAUL JONES. 187 

powder, yet the three pumps that remained could with difficulty 
only keep the water from gaining. The fire broke out in 
various parts of the ship, in spite of all the water that could be 
thrown in to quench it, and at length broke out as low as the 
powder magazine, and within a few inches of the powder. In 
that dilemma, I took out the powder upon deck, ready to be 
thrown overboard at the last extremity, and it was ten o'clock 
the next day, the 24th, before the fire was entirely extinguish- 
ed. With respect to the situation of the Bon Homme Richard, 
the rudder was cut entirely off, the stern frame and tran- 
soms were almost entirely cut away, and the timbers by the 
lower deck, especially from the main-mast towards the stern, 
being greatly decayed with age, were mangled beyond my power 
of description, and a person must have been an eye witness to 
form a just idea of the tremendous scene of carnage, wreck, and 
ruin, which every where appeared.* Humanity cannot but recoil 
from the prospect of such finished horror, and lament that war 
should be capable of producing such fatal consequences. 

" After the carpenters, as well as Captain Cottineau and 
other men of sense, had well examined and surveyed the ship, 
(which was not finished before five in the evening,) I found 
every person to be convinced that it was impossible to keep the 
Bon Homme Richard afloat so as to reach a port, if the wind 
should increase, it being then only a very moderate breeze. 1 
had but little time to remove my wounded, which now became 
unavoidable, and which was effected in the course of the night 



* " The Bon Homme Richard received little damage in her masts ; but was cut 
entirely to pieces hettceen decks, especially from the main-mast to the stern. In that space, 
there was an entire break on hoik sides, from the gun-deck, almost to the water's edge ; so 
that towards the end of the action, almost all the shot of the Serapis had passed through 
the Bon Homme Richard, without touching. The rudder and transoms were cut oft"; and 
here and there an old rotten timber, besides the stern-post, was the only support that 
prevented the .stern from falling down on the gun-room deck." " Eight or tea of the 
Bon Homme Richard's men took away a fine cutter boat, that had been at the stern of 
the Serapis during the action, and landed at Scarborough. Some others were so 
much afraid as to swim on board the Alliance after the action." — Journal for the King 



188 PAUL JONES. 

and next morning. I was determined to keep the Bon Homme 
Richard afloat, and, if possible, to bring her into port. For 
that purpose, the first Heutenant of the Pallas continued on 
board with a party of men to attend the pumps, with boats in 
waiting ready to take them on board, in case the water should 
gain on them too fast. The wind augmented in the night, and 
the next day, the 25th, so that it was impossible to prevent the 
good old ship from sinking. They did not abandon her till 
after nine o'clock ; the water was then up to the lower deck, 
and a little after ten I saw, with inexpressible grief, the last 
glimpse of the Bon Homme Richard. No lives were lost with 
the ship,* but it was impossible to save the stores of any sort 
whatever. I lost even the best part of my clothes, books, and 
papers ; and several of my officers lost all their clothes and 
eflfects. 

" Having thus endeavoured to give a clear and simple relation 
of the circumstances and events that have attended the little 
armament under my command, I shall freely submit my conduct 
therein to the censure of my superiors and the impartial public. 
I beg leave, however, to observe, that the force put under my 
command was far from being well composed, and as the great 
majority of the actors in it have appeared bent on the pursuit of 
interest only, I am exceedingly sorry, that they and I have been 
at all concerned." 

"Captain Cottineau engaged the Countess of Scarborough, 
and took her, after an hour's action, while the Bon Homme 
Richard engaged the Serapis. The Countess of Scarborough 



* Captain Pearson stated in his official despatch, that the Bon Homme Richard 
^unk " with a great number of her wounded people on board." He was in error. 
Jones repeats in his Journal, that " with the pilot boat, and the boats of the squadron, 
all the wounded were removed, and every person was saved. The lieutenant of the 
Pallas remained on board the Bon Homme Richard, with a party to attend the 
pumps, and boats waiting to take them on board, if they could no longer keep her 
afloat. In the morning, the wind increased and they were obliged to abandon her, 
the water being over the lower deck. Soon after the Bon Homme Richard disap- 
peared, the stern and mizen-mast being seen last. 



PAUL JONES. 189 

is an armed ship of 20 six-pounders, and was commanded by a 
king's officer. In the action, the Countess of Scarborough and 
the Serapis were at a considerable distance asunder ; and the 
AlUance, as I am informed, fired into the Pallas and killed some 
men. If it should be asked, why the convoy was suffered to 
escape, I must answer, that I was myself in no condition to 
pursue,* and that none of the rest showed any inclination ; not 
even Mr. Ricot, who had held off at a distance to windward 
during the whole action, and withheld by force the pilot boat 
with my lieutenant and fifteen men.* The Alliance, too, was in 
a state to pursue the fleet, not having had a single man wounded, 
or a single shot fired at her from the Serapis, and only three 
that did execution from the Countess of Scarborough, at such 
a distance that one stuck in the side, and the other two just 
touched, and then dropped into the water. The Alliance killed 
one man only on board the Serapis. As Captain de Cottineau 
charged himself with manning and securing the prisoners of the 
Countess of Scarborough, I think the escape of the Baltic fleet 
cannot so well be charged to his account.t 

" I should have mentioned, that the main-mast and mizen- 
top-mast of the Serapis fell overboard, soon after the captain 
had come on board the Bon Homme Richard." 

That the accounts of eye witnesses immediately concerned in 
this action may not be confused by commentary, we shall im- 
mediately add the narrative of Jones' first, and then, only lieu- 
tenant, Richard Dale, subsequently a distinguished post captain 
in the navy of the United States, said to have been furnished for 
Mr. Sherburne's Collections. 



* This is founded on a report that has proved to be false ; for it now appears, that 
Captain Ricot expressly ordered the pilot boat to board the Bon Homme Richard, 
which order was disobeyed. — Note by Jones. 

t " It was a thick fog all the morning. When it began to clear up, the enemy's 
merchant ships had got safe into their harbours, and not a sail appeared along the 
shore." — Journal for the King. 



190 PAUL JONES. 

" On the 23d of September, 1779, being below, was roused 
by an unusual noise upon deck. This induced me to go upon 
deck, when I found the men were swaying up the royal yards, 
preparatory to making sail for a large fleet under our lee. I 
asked the coasting pilot what fleet it was ? He answered, * The 
Baltic Fleet, under convoy of the Serapis of 44 guns, and 
the Countess of Scarborough of 20 guns.' A general chase 
then commenced of the Bon Homme Richard, the Vengeance, 
the Pallas, and the Alliance ; the latter ship being then in sight, 
after a separation from the squadron of nearly three weeks ; 
but which ship, as usual, disregarded the signals of the com- 
modore. At this time our fleet headed to the northward with a 
light breeze, Flamborough Head being about two leagues dis- 
tant. At seven p. m. it was evident the Baltic fleet perceived 
we were in chase, from the signal of the Serapis to the mer- 
chantmen, to stand in shore. At the same time, the Serapis 
and Countess of Scarborough tacked ship and stood ofl* shore, 
with the intention of drawing off* our attention from the convoy. 
When these ships had separated from the convoy about two 
miles, they again tacked and stood in shore after the merchant- 
men. At about eight, being within hail, the Serapis demanded, 
' What ship is that ?' He was answered, ' I can't hear what you 
say.' Immediately after the Serapis hailed again, ' What ship 
is that ? Answer immediately, or I shall be under the necessity 
of firing into you.' At this moment I received orders from 
Commodore Jones to commence the action with a broadside, 
which, indeed, appeared to be simultaneous on board both ships. 
Our position being to windward of the Serapis, we passed ahead 
of her, and the Serapis coming up on our larboard quarter, the 
action commenced abreast of each other. The Serapis soon 
passed ahead of the Bon Homme Richard, and when he thought 
he had gained a distance sufficient to go down athwart the fore- 
foot to rake us, found he had not enough distance, and that the 
Bon Homme Richard would be aboard him, put his helm alee, 
which brought the two ships on a line ; and the Bon Homme 
Richard having headway, ran her bows into the stern of the 



PAUL JONES. 191 

Serapis. We had remained in this situation but a few minutes, 
when we were again hailed by the Serapis ; ' Has your ship 
struck ?' To which Captain Jones answered, ' I have not yet 
begun to fight.' As we were unable to bring a single gun to 
bear upon the Serapis, our top-sails were backed, while those 
of the Serapis being filled, the ships separated. The Serapis 
wore short round upon her heels, and her jib-boom ran into the 
mizen-rigging of the Bon Homme Richard ; in this situation 
the ships were made fast together with a hawser, the bowsprit 
of the Serapis to the mizen-mast of the Bon Homme Richard, 
and the action recommenced from the starboard sides of the 
two ships. With a view of separating the ships, the Serapis 
let go her anchor, which manoeuvre brought her head and the 
stern of the Bon Homme Richard to the wind, while the ships 
lay closely pressed against each other. A novelty in naval com- 
bats was now presented to many witnesses, but to few admirers. 
The rammers were run into the respective ships to enable the 
men to load, after the lower part of the Serapis had been blown 
away, to make room for running out their guns, and in this 
situation the ships remained until between 10 and 11 o'clock 
p. M. when the engagement terminated by the surrender of the 
Serapis. 

" From the commencement to the termination of the action, 
there was not a man on board of the Bon Homme Richard 
ignorant of the superiority of the Serapis, both in weight of 
metal and in the qualities of the crews. The crew of that ship 
were picked seamen, and the ship itself had been only a few 
months off" the stocks; whereas the crew of the Bon Homme 
Richard consisted of part American, English, and French, and 
in part of Maltese, Portuguese, and Malays ; these latter con- 
tributing, by their want of naval skill and knowledge of the 
English language, to depress rather than elevate a just hope of 
success in a combat under such circumstances. Neither the 
consideration of the relative force of the ships, the fact of the 
blowing up of the gun-deck above them, by the bursting of two 
of the eighteen-pounders, nor the alarm that the ship was sink- 



192 PAUL JONES. 

iog, could depress the ardour or change the determination of 
the brave Captain Jones, his officers and men. Neither the 
repeated broadsides of the AUiance, given with the view of sink- 
ing or disabhng the Bon Homme Richard, the frequent neces- 
sity of suspending the combat to extinguish the flames, which 
several times were within a few inches of the magazine, nor 
the liberation, by the master-at-arms, of nearly 500 prisoners, 
could change or weaken the purpose of the American com- 
mander. At the moment of the liberation of the prisoners, one 
of them, a commander of a twenty gun ship, taken a few days 
before, passed through the ports on board the Serapis, and 
informed Captain Pearson, that if he would hold out only a little 
while longer, the ship alongside would either strike or sink, 
and that all the prisoners had been released to save their lives ; 
the combat was accordingly continued with renewed ardour by 
the Serapis. The fire from the tops of the Bon Homme Richard 
was conducted with so much skill and effect as to destroy ulti- 
mately every man who appeared upon the quarter-deck of the 
Serapis, and induced her commander to order the survivors to 
go below. Nor even under shelter of the decks were they more 
secure. The powder-monkeys of the Serapis finding no officer 
to receive the eighteen-pound cartridges brought from the ma- 
gazines, threw them on the main-deck, and went for more. 
These cartridges being scattered along the deck, and numbers 
of them broken, it so happened, that some of the hand-grenades 
thrown from the main-yard of the Bon Homme Richard, which 
was directly over the main-hatch of the Serapis, fell upon this 
powder, and produced a most awful explosion. The eflfect was 
tremendous ; more than twenty of the enemy were blown to 
pieces, and many stood with only the collars of their shirts upon 
their bodies. In less than an hour afterwards, the flag of Eng- 
land, which had been nailed to the mast of the Serapis, was 
struck by Captain Pearson's own hand, as none of his people 
would venture aloft on this duty ; and this, too, when more than 
1,500 persons were witnessing the conflict, and the humiliating 
termination of it from Scarborough and Flamborough Head. 



PAUL JONES. 193 

" Upon finding that the flag of the Serapis had been struck, 
I went to Captain Jones, and asked whether I might board the 
Serapis? to which he consented ; and, jumping upon the gun- 
wale, I seized the main-brace pennant, and swung myself upon 
her quarter-deck. Midshipman Mayant followed with a party 
of men, and was immediately run through the thigh with a board- 
ing-pike by some of the enemy stationed in the waist, who were 
not informed of the surrender of the ship. I found Captain 
Pearson standing on the leeward side of the quarter-deck, and 
addressing myself to him, said, ' Sir, I have orders to send you 
on board the ship alongside.' The first lieutenant of the Sera 
pis coming up at this moment, inquired of Captain Pearson, 
whether the ship alongside had struck to him? To which I 
replied, ' No sir, the contrary ; he has struck to us.' The 
lieutenant renewing his inquiry, ' Have you struck, sir ?' was an- 
swered, ' Yes, I have.' The lieutenant replied, ' I have nothing 
more to say,' and was about to return below, when I informed 
him, he must accompany Captain Pearson on board the ship 
alongside. He said, ' If you will permit me to go below, I will 
silence the firing of the lower-deck guns.' This request was re- 
fused, and, with Captain Pearson, he was passed over to the deck 
of the Bon Homme Richard. Orders being sent below to cease 
firing, the engagement terminated, after a most obstinate con- 
test of three hours and a half. 

" Upon receiving Captain Pearson on board the Bon Homme 
Richard, Captain Jones gave orders to cut loose the lashings, 
and directed me to follow him with the Serapis. Perceiving the 
Bon Homme Richard leaving the Serapis, I sent one of the 
quarter-masters to ascertain whether the wheel-ropes were cut 
away, supposing something extraordinary must be the matter, 
as the ship would not pay off", although the head sails were 
aback, and no after sail ; the quarter-master returning, reported 
that the wheel-ropes were all well, and the helm hard a-port. 
Excited by this extraordinary circumstance, I jumped off the 
binnacle, where I had been sitting, and falling upon the deck, 
found to my astonishment I had the use of only one of my legs ; 

24 



194 PAUL JONES. 

a splinter of one of the guns had struck and badly wounded 
my leg without my perceiving the injury until this moment. I 
was replaced upon the binnacle, when the sailing-master of the 
Serapis coming up to me, observed, that from my orders he 
judged I must be ignorant of the ship being at anchw. Noticing 
the second lieutenant of the Bon Homme Richard, I directed 
him to go below and cut away the cable, and follow the Bon 
Homme Richard with the Serapis. I was then carried on board 
the Bon Homme Richard to have my wound dressed." 

When the ordinary allowances are made for the causes which 
induce different representations, as to the incidents and results 
of a desperate engagement, from the two parties, it is perhaps 
a little surprising, that the particulars given in the letter 
addressed by the gallant Pearson to the Admiralty office, vary 
so immaterially from the other accounts. He states, that he 
was tacking to keep his ground between the enemy's ships and 
the convoy, when, about the time mentioned by the American 
commander, the ship of the latter brought to, on his larboard 
bow. When asked, what ship she was, he understood the men 
to answer, "the Princess Royal." He does not essentially con- 
tradict the subsequent details. He says his ship was on fire 
ten or twelve times in different places. The Alliance being 
near, he found it impracticable to stand out any longer, with the 
least hope of success. He had done all that the " bravest of the 
brave" could do ; and well earned the honour of knighthood.* 
We have already referred, in the previous notes, to his remarks 
on the conduct of the Alliance. If we put the two accounts 
together, of Pearson and Jones, without adding the testimony of 
the numerous officers in the squadron, which sinks the scale in 



* Mr. Goldsboiough chronicles another current apochrj phal anecdote, which may 
or may not be true ; but it is at any rate in far better taste than the one referred to in a 
note some pages back. " When Captain Jones was in Paris, some short lime after 
the action, he was informed that Captain Pearson hadbeen knighted. " Well, "said he^ 
" he deserved it; and if I fall in with him again, I will make a lord of him." 



PAUL JONES. 195 

which Landais might be weighed, to the very nadir, it will 
unequivocally appear that the latter did more harm to the Bon 
Homme Richard, than to the Serapis. But how, as the editor 
of the Life of Jones, published in Edinburgh, has naturally re- 
marked, " could any British officer have learned to imagine the 
atrocity of a commander pointing his guns in the heat of a close 
action, not against the enemy, but against his own consort ?" 
We have said the remark was naturally made ; but perceive by 
looking further, that the anomalous conduct of Landais is made 
by this editor a shoeing horn, to pull up sweeping charges 
against the French marine. This is natural too. Captain 
Pearson's account of the distressed and hopeless condition of 
the Bon Homme Richard, is in consonance with all the others. 
In the copy of his letter published in Sherburne's Collections, 
.the only one I have, the number of killed and wounded on board 
of that ship, is stated at 306. It must be a typographical error ; 
as Captain Pearson must have known, within a score or two, 
the equipage of the vessel, and by this reckoning there would 
have been not a soul left to take charge of the fragments of the 
battle. 

The official list of the wounded on board the Serapis, of whom 
eight had died when it is dated, September 30th, amounts to 
68, besides a few whose names could not be ascertained.* Of 
the dead there is no official return before me. In the roll 
of the Bon Homme Richard's equipage, published in Sher- 
burne's Collections, 42 are returned killed, and 40 wounded. t 
There are, however, but 228 names on this imperfect docu- 
ment, which is without date or voucher ; and in which the 
master, Mr. Cutting Lunt, is called the third lieutenant, Mr. 
Stacey, acting master, the master, <fcc. Captain Pearson says, 
" our loss in the Serapis was very great." Jones says, in 
his Journal for the King : " By a return of the surgeon of the 
Serapis, they had a hundred men dangerously wounded on board 



* Sherburne's Collections, p. 103. f lb. p. 140. 



196 PAUL JONES. 

that ship m the action. Their loss appears to be that number 
killed. They having taken on board some East India seamen 
at Copenhagen, over and above their complement, their crew 
appears to have been four hundred effective men, when the 
action began. Captain Jones had but three hundred and eighty, 
good and had, when he left France. He had manned several 
prizes, which, with desertions on the coasts of Ireland and Scot- 
land, and the absence of the pilot boat, with two officers and six- 
teen of his best men, reduced him to tl^ree hundred and forty, 
including the disaffected, which were a great majority of the 
whole, as they were chiefly British, who had enlisted from the 
prisons of France.* It may also be observed, the officers and 
men placed in the gun-room, sixty in number, did not discharge 
a second shot, nor otherwise assist, and cannot properly be said 
to have been in the action. To say nothing of the damage done 
by the Countess of Scarborough and the Alliance, the enemy 
was superior in cannon, as 576 is to 390,t besides a greater 
superiority in men ; and had thirteen feet three inches between 
her guns ; whereas, the guns of the Bon Homme Richard 
were only nine feet six inches asunder." 

It is out of the province, as it is utterly beyond the skill of the 
compiler, to comment with any science on the conduct of the 
commanders of the Pallas and Vengeance, during this naval 
combat. It will appear to the common reader, that Captain 
Cottineau, whom Jones always speaks of respectfully, did all 
his duty. Jones certifies, that Captain Ricot of the Vengeance 
was " a sensible man, and a good officer ;" and has himself 



♦ Forty-six seamen are marked as Americans, in the roll published in Sherburne's 
Collections, and thirty-two among the officers of all descriptions, from the commander 
to the cook. 

t In Sherburne's Collections, the weight of metal which the Bon Homme Richard 
could throw, is stated at 414 pounds ; but this statement is wrong altogether, accord- 
ing to the official inventory in French, copied from that filed by order of Congress. 
Jones had 6 eighteen-pounders, 28 twelve-pounders, and 6 nine-pounders. Three of 
the last gained him the battle. His weight of metal was, therefore, 474. That of 
the Serapis, according to Sherburne, was 600. 



PAUL JONES. 197 

corrected the charge of neglect of orders, which he at first 
threw out against him. If it be thought that " he did his duty, 
and he did no more," it must be remembered that by random 
firing he might have done more harm than good ; and that the 
Serapis had a broadside in store on the off side, which might 
have proved fatal to his corvette of 12 guns and sixty-six 
men. Like the lieutenant in the pilot boat, he may have 
thought it not prudent, to go too close in the night to two ships, 
both on fire, and locked in mortal struggle. The Alliance, the 
comet of the scene, might have flung some of its scattering trail 
at him, as the commander does not seem to have confined his 
attentions to the Bon Homme Richard and Serapis. Cupidity 
could not have been the dominant passion of any of the French 
captains ; or they would have given a better account of the 
convoy. 

But what can be said for Contre Admiral Pierre Landais, as 
he afterwards styled himself? The mind not stolid or brutalized, 
ever seeks an apology or an explanation for mental eccentricity, 
when it is unallied to moral turpitude. But if we are to treat 
Landais as a rational agent, we must charge him, as all who 
have canvassed the subject have done, either with cowardice, 
gross ignorance, and stupidity, or malignant and base jealousy. 
Make every allowance for the tactics and regime of the old 
ecoU de la marine ; for the pride of birth, if he was noble ; and 
for professional pride, if he considered himself under the con- 
cordat, as an ally of Jones, and not bound to obey his orders : 
still, on one or more of the prongs of this ugly trident, Landais 
must either be impaled, or sadly bruised. We are compelled 
to reject the idea, that personal timidity was his misfortune, not 
only from the nature of his profession, but from various passages 
in his life.* If we ask for the motives of his conduct on this 



• Captain de Cottineau de Kloguene, of the Pallas, does, however, certify distinctly 
to the ninth article of the charges against Landais ; which was, that, when on the 
morning of the day when the action was fought, the Bon Homme Richard came in 
sight of the Pallas and Alliance, off Flamborough Head, Landais told him, that if it was 



108 PAUL JONES. 

occasion, the twenty-third charge against him, attested by the 
formal declarations of three officers is, that he " acknowledged 
after the action, that he would have thought it no harm if the 
Bon Homme Richard had struck ; for it would have given him 
an opportunity to retake her, and take the Serapis." Other 
witnesses of competent character bear testimony that he subse- 
quently made the same remark. We shall encumber these 
pages with no more of the multitudinous accusations and proofs 
against Landais, growing out of this transaction. Grave nar- 
rative must leave his memory under these embarrassments. 
The amateurs of the moral picturesque, may disport with it 
after their several conceptions.* 

In an account made out by Jones while at the Texel, I find 
an item in which the marine committee of the United States is 
charged with a hundred ducats, paid to John Jackson, of Hull, 
as smart money; "besides," the item states, " giving him a 
certificate, by which he is to receive half pay as Pilot during his 
life, from the minister plenipotentiary of the United States at 
Paris, for his gallant behaviour, and the loss of his arm, in the 
action with the Serapis ; and for his having proved a faithful 
pilot on the east coast of England." This man did receive his 
half pay during life. 

Among these memoranda relative to the action with the Se- 
rapis, it may be well to give a reply in anticipation, to a question 
which will naturally occur to those who take any interest in an 
unparalleled sea fight, in which the honour and hopes of their 
own country and its flag, were in no small degree at hazard. 
That question is, whether Jones, who Avrought as a common 
sailor, while he acted as a commander in the engagement, who 
lashed the ships fast together with his own hands, repulsed the 
boarders, and personally worked the only serviceable guns, 



n 50 gun ship, they must run away: though he knew that the Pallas, from her dull 
£?ailing, must be taken. 

" See Apoendix No. VIII. before referred to. i 



PAUL JONES. 199 

was wounded in the conflict. It would seem that he must have 
" borne a charmed life," if in all his daring and seemingly rash 
exploits, no bullet was marked for him, and if, among crashing 
timbers, exploding cartridges, and flying ruins, he moved un- 
scathed amidst carnage and destruction. He has been charged, 
from the tenor of his style, with not making the least of his 
services, and in fact with boastful egotism, by those who had 
not examined, or did not pause to consider the meaning phraseo- 
logy of that day, which to quiet citizens who now feel and 
know that they are free, sounds as somewhat fantastic. Neither 
have these censors ever weighed the circumstances of the 
captain's education, the causes which led him to adopt a par- 
lance then familiar, about the dignity of human nature, &.c. and 
the situation in which he spoke in the first person, as one having 
authority so to do, when it was in behalf of suffering and com- 
plaining seamen, on whose account he was himself out of pocket. 
All who have been misled by an unenlightened consideration of 
the style of Jones, should remember, that he never in any of his 
appeals, whether made with deliberation, or on the spur of the 
moment, speaks of his personal privations or sufferance. A 
memorandum made by him in his Journal, that he never had 
three hours' rest out of the twenty-four, during this cruise, 
was not inserted in any official document, and never intended 
for effect. It is known, as I am assured, that he was once 
severely wounded in the head, and that he underwent great 
suffering at several times, from violent injuries received in dis- 
charging his duty. But, though he carefully preserved the 
hasty notes of distinguished men, and the billets doux of fair 
correspondents, and loved to dwell upon every mark of distinc 
tion which he received from courts or courtiers, he never 
chronicled his wounds in any letter or journal. The only 
reference I find to them, is in a fragment of what seems to be 
the draft of a letter in his own hand writing, to some person, 
either a member of, or connected with, the French ministry ; 
and to have been written but a short time before his death. It 
will be quoted in its place. Speaking of his cold reception by 



200 PAUL JONES. 

M. De Sartine, after his return from the Texel, he says : " He 
did not even ask me if my health had not suffered from my 
wounds, and the uncommon fatigue I had undergone." This 
he merely mentions as a forgetfulness of the ordinary forms of 
ministerial politeness. 

" Captain .Tones," we follow his journal, *' took command of 
the Serapis, and erected jury-masts. After tossing about to and 
fro in the North Sea, for ten days, in contrary winds and bad 
weather, in order to gain the port of Dunkirk, on account of the 
prisoners, the captains under his command, after some cabal, 
bore away for the Texel, and left him to windward, with the 
choice to follow or proceed. [Captain Jones never had three 
hours sleep in the twenty-four, in the whole campaign, from 
L'Orient to the Texel.] The squadron anchored off the Texel 
the 3d of October, 1779 ; and they persisted in working into the 
port, though the wind was fair for Dunkirk the next morning." 

This naval "campaign" as its hero styles it, of course made 
echoes that were heard to a mighty distance. The fire he had 
kindled in the British ocean flung its terrific radiance far over 
the world of waters, and was beheld from distant shores. 
Britain was incensed at finding this celebrated American, with 
his audacious prow, a second time carrying dismay into her har- 
bours ; and at the loss, in a fairly fought battle, of one of her finest 
frigates. France and her allies could not but be delighted. The 
journals of the day teemed with varying accounts of his exploits.* 



* Several of these cotemporary accounts have been frequently republished. It seeme 
Qiinecesflary to quote many of them. 

Extract of a letter from Stockholm, September 21. 
" Expresses arrived on Saturday, from Sunderland, stating that Paul Jones had tal^en 
sixteen sail more of colliers. In consequence of the capture of so many colliers, and 
the interruption of the trade, the price of coals will be enormous. Instead of having 
the dominion of the sea, it is now evident that we are not able to defend our own coast 
from depredations. 



PAUL JONES. 201 

Though the peevishness of Landais had prevented him from 
fairly trying any of the schemes he had meditated, and which 
were compatible with each other, had time been allowed, and 
discipline and secrecy preserved — of intercepting the homeward 
bound East India ships, the West India or Hudson's Bay ships, 
or the Baltic fleet — he had struck another blow, valuable for its 
effect in giving confidence to those who were arming or forming 
systems of armed neutrality against the dictatress of the ocean. 
The information he was enabled from resources and facilities 
peculiar to himself, to give to the ministers and the commanders 
of the allied squadron, was of the highest value, and anticipated 
often all their other advices. Had their action been in a 
moderate degree commensurate with his conception, the com- 
merce of England would long have had cause to rue'the ac- 



" The master of a sloop from Harwich, who arrived yesterday, saw on Saturday last, 
no less than eleven sail of men of war going in search of Paul Jones, and among them 
was the Edgar of 74 guns. 

" By the examination of the four men belonging to one of Paul Jones' squadron, it 
appears that Jones' orders were not to burn any houses or towns. What an example 
of honour and greatness does America thus show to us ! While our troops are running 
about from town to town on their coast, burning every thing with a wanton, wicked 
barbarity, Dr. Franklin gives no orders to retaliate ; he is above it : and there was a 
time when an English minister was above it ; when an English minister would have 
disdained to make war in so villanous a mode. It is a disgrace to the nation. Paul 
Jones could have burnt Leith the other day with the greatest ease, and another little 
town near it." 

From the London Chronicle, October 17th, 1779. 
" Amsterdam, October, 7th. — Last Tuesday, Paul Jones, with the prizes, the Serapis 
and Scarborough, entered the Texel, and this day he appeared on the Exchange, 
where business gave way to curiosity. The crowd pressing upon him, by whom he was 
styled the terror of the English, he withdrew to a room fronting a public square, where 
Monsieur Donneville the French agent, and the Americans, paid him such a volley of 
compliments, and such homage as he could only answer with a bow ; he was dressed in 
the American uniform, with a Scotch bonnet edged with gold, is of a middling stature, 
.stern countenance, and swarthy complexion. It was supposed he was going to Paris 
to receive the congratulations of the Grand Monarque, and Dr. Franklin ; but lam now 
informed, he is gone to the Hague, to solicit by the French ambassador, the repair r 
his shipping, which if he should succeed in, he will probably elude the vigilance 
74 gun ship waiting before the Te.xel." 

25 



202 PAUL JONES. 

cession of so shrewd and practical a colleague to the counsels 
of her enemies. 

In the blaze of his renown, and with the spoil of his victory, 
he was a second time to contend with a series of difficulties, 
more intricate than the court intrigues which had before ex- 
hausted his patience ; but not, fortunately, so protracted. Before 
he was to leave the port, he entered in triumph. This he effect- 
ed, with all his honour saved, gained additional fame by his 
perfect seamanship, and was directly and materially instrumental 
in producing an open rupture between England and Holland. 
It is not doubted that this contingency 'was contemplated, when 
he had orders to make the Texel his port of destination. 

By the portions of Franklin's correspondence with Jones, 
which have been extracted, the reader will have understood the 
difficulties which prevented any vessels or naval stores intended 
for the service of the United States from being openly taken 
out of the ports of Holland, a nominally neutral power, which 
had not yet recognised the independence of the abjuring Colo- 
nies, and was bound to England by ancient treaties. Both 
the letter and the spirit of these had indeed been violated ; and 
so far as that of 1678, which bound their high mightinesses to 
break with any aggressor against their ally, it had been treated as 
obsolete. And they were preparing to accede to the system of 
an armed neutrality, proposed by Russia, though the treaty was 
not signed until the middle of the following year. The mer- 
chants of Amsterdam, and the Grand Pensionary were earnestly 
desirous of the success of the American arms. Secret negotia- 
tions had been pending, and the form of a treaty of amity and 
commerce was found among the papers of Mr. Laurens, thrown 
overboard by him previous to his capture, but recovered, which 
led the government of Britain to give immediate attention to all 
that was passing in the ports of Holland, and to give particular 
instructions to their minister. Sir Joseph Yorke, who faithfully 
executed them. It is necessary to refer to these well known 
matters of history, in connecting this biography. 



PAUL JONES. 203 

M. de la Sartine addressed Franklin on the 5th September, 
in relation to the scheme of bringing out the Indien and other 
ships, designated as Dutch and neutral, which were at the king's 
charge, and sundry munitions of war, which the minister styles, 
"tres interessantes," from the ports of Holland into those of 
France. He had given orders, he said, that they should be in 
readiness by the expiration of the month, when the limitation 
of Jones' cruise would expire ; in order that he might attend to 
them, under the instructions of the American ambassador. A 
copy of this letter awaited Jones on his arrival in the Texel 
road, with a request from Franklin, that *' he would do his ut- 
most to render the service therein mentioned effectual ; which 
would, in the then pending instance, be very advantageous to 
the common cause, arid very acceptable to his majesty." " It 
would be well for him," it was added, *' to keep his intention of 
conveying those vessels as secret as possible, lest notice of it 
should be sent to England, and ships placed to intercept him." 
Jones has made a memorandum on this passage, which has been 
already referred to; "I found our object in the public papers, 
when I arrived in Holland ; and Sir Joseph Yorke had sent off 
an express to England, informing also that part of my business 
here would be to take out the Indien. I was then under the 
necessity, to represent the want of secrecy of M. Chaumont to 
court, and to complain of his conduct towards me in the affair 
of the Concordat." 

As the eyes of the English ministry were fixed upon Holland, 
and there was no lack of agents to give them information, that 
of M. Chaumont would seem, at the present day, to have been 
gratuitous. Nor was there any want of ships to intercept Jones 
The battle with the Serapis had not been fought in a corner. 
The mind, through the whole scale of intellect, from the high- 
est to the meanest, and from the hero to the hireling, is subject 
to the same " like passions." A steam pipe for the escape of 
surplus vexation is not always philosophically selected ; and if 
Jones occasionally ascribed a change in the wind, a timid and 
deceitful course of policy, or the presence of some seventy-fours, 



204 PAUL JONES. 

to the unhappy " concordat,'''' it was but the common error of 
humanity, when tried as his nature was. 

Immediately on arriving in the Texel road, on the 3d of 
October, he addressed an account of his cruise to the American 
ambassador, copies of which were sent to the President of Con- 
gress, and to the French minister. The body of this despatch 
has already been inserted. The conclusion was as follows : 

" I am in the highest degree sensible of the singular atten 
tions which I have experienced from the court of France, which 
I shall remember with perfect gratitude until the end of my life, 
and will always endeavour to merit, while I can, consistent with 
my honour, continue in the public service. I must speak plainly : 
as I have been always honoured with the full confidence of Con- 
gress, and as I also flattered myself with enjoying in some mea- 
sure the confidence of the court of France, I could not but be 
astonished at the conduct of Monsieur de Chaumont, when, in 
the moment of my departure from Groix, he produced a paper, 
a concordat, for me to sign, in common with the officers whom 
I had commissioned but a few days before. Had that paper, 
or even a less dishonourable one, been proposed to me at the 
beginning, I would have rejected it with just contempt, and the 
word deplacement, among others, should have been necessary. 
I cannot, however, even now suppose that he was authorised by 
the court to make such a bargain with me. Nor can I suppose 
that the minister of the marine meant that M. de Chaumont 
should consider me merely as a colleague with the commanders 
of the other ships, and communicate to them not only all he 
knew, but all he thought respecting our destination and opera- 
tions. M. de Chaumont has made me various reproaches on 
account of the expense of the Bon Homme Richard, wherewith 
I cannot think I have been justly chargeable. M. de Cha- 
millard can attest, that the Bon Homme Richard was at last 
far from being well fitted or armed for war. If any person or 
persons, who have been charged with the expense of that arma- 
ment have acted wrong, the fault must not be laid to my charge. 
I had no authority to superintend that armament, and the per- 



PAUL JONES. 205 

sons who had authority, were so far from giving me what I 
thought necessary, that M. de Chauraont even refused, among 
other things, to allow me irons to secure the prisoners of war. 

" In short, while my life remains, if I have any capacity to 
render good and acceptable services to the common cause, no 
man will step forth with greater cheerfulness and alacrity than 
myself; but I am not made to be dishonoured, nor can I accept 
of the half cmifidence of any man living. Of course I cannot, 
consistent with my honour, and a prospect of success, undertake 
future expeditions, unless when the object and destination is 
communicated to me alone, and to no other person in the ma- 
rine line. In cases where troops are embarked, a like confi- 
dence is due alone to their commander in chief. On no other 
condition will I ever undertake the chief command of a private 
expedition ; and when I do not command in chief, I have no 
desire to be in the secret. 

" Upon the whole, the captain of the Alliance has behaved so 
very ill in every respect, that I must complain loudly of his con- 
duct. He pretends that he is authorised to act independent of 
my command ; I have been taught the contrary ; but supposing 
it to be so, his conduct has been base and unpardonable. M. 
de Chamillard will explain the particulars. Either Captain 
Landais or myself is highly criminal, and one or the other 
must be punished. I forbear to take any steps with him until 
I have the advice and approbation of your excellency. I have 
been advised by all the officers of the squadron to put M. Lan- 
dais under arrest ; but as I have postponed it so long, I will 
bear with him a little longer, until the return of my express. 

" We this day anchored here, having since the action been 
tossed to and fro by contrary winds. I wished to have gained 
the road of Dunkirk on account of our prisoners, but was over- 
ruled by the majority of my colleagues. I shall hasten up to 
Amsterdam, and there, if I meet with no orders for my govern- 
ment, I will take the advice of the French ambassador. It is 
my present intention to have the Countess of Scarborough ready 
to transport the prisoners from hence to Dunkirk, unless it 



206 PAUL JONES. 

should be found more expedient to deliver them to the English 
ambassador, taking his obligation to send to Dunkirk, &,c. im- 
mediately an equal number of American prisoners. I am under 
strong apprehensions that our object here will fail, and that 
through the imprudence of M. de Chaumont, who has commu- 
nicated every thing he knew or thought on the matter, to per- 
sons who cannot help talking of it at a full table. This is the 
way he keeps state secrets, though he never mentioned the 
affair to me." 

Hitherto, deeming it unwise to break with M. Chaumont, 
and feeling that personal regard, which supposed grounds for 
complaint against its object had not overcome, Jones had not 
directly intimated to him the charges of moral weakness, which 
he had made in his letters of a confidential character. The com- 
munication of those charges was now inevitable ; and in the fol- 
lowing letter, written on the same day on which the account of 
the cruise is dated, it will be seen that, acting on his impression 
that his correspondent's mind was not well balanced, he express- 
ed himself with a happy mixture of frankness and dexterity. 

" On hoard the Ship of War the Serapis, at anchor 
without the Texd, October 3, 1779. 

" M. Le Ray de Chaumont, a Passy. 

" The original of the enclosed copy of my last letter, written 
on board the Bon Homme Richard, off the S. W. coast of Ire- 
land, the 24th of August, as well as the papers which preceded 
it, and to which it alludes, 1 hope duly reached the hands of my 
friend M. de Chaumont, and explained to his satisfaction my 
conduct from the time I left Groix until that date. For the full 
history of my expedition, I must beg leave to refer you to a 
letter of this date, which accompanies this, to his excellency Dr. 
Franklin, who will, if you demand it, furnish you with a copy. 

" I wish to act a candid part towards all men, and therefore 
wish you to have a copy of that letter, that you may see my 
sentiments respecting tl^e ' concordat,' which you imposed upon 
me in the moment of my departure from Groix. What could 
have inspired you with such sentiments of distrust towards me, . 



PAUL JONES. 207 

after the ocular proofs of hospitality which I so long expe- 
rienced in your house, and after the warm expressions of gene- 
rous and unbounded friendship, which I had constantly been 
honoured with in your letters, exceeds my mental faculties to 
comprehend. I am, however, yet willing to give you an oppor- 
tunity of rendering justice to my character. I cannot think you 
are personally my enemy. I rather imagine that your conduct 
towards me at L'Orient, has arisen from the base misrepresent- 
ation of some secret villainy; therefore, I am, with unaltered 
sentiments of good will and affection for yourself and family, 

" My dear friend, 
" Your obliged, humble servant." 

The most offensive provision of the concordat was, it may be 
presumed, that which gave the commanders the right to succeed 
in order, in case of death or retreat. Without this privilege, it 
is not probable that they would have agreed to sail on the pro- 
jected cruise. But the independence which it made them feel, 
no doubt gave rise to the want of subordination, which Jones 
had so much reason to complain of. Without taking this into 
consideration, the reader may be at a loss to account for the 
strong -language employed in the foregoing extract, and when- 
ever the concordat is adverted to by the commander of the 
squadron. 

On the 5th, Jones addressed the Duke de la Vauguyon, 
ambassador of France at the Hague. The return of his pri- 
soners was not completed, but he rated it at three hundred and 
fifty, of whom one hundred and thirty were wounded. The total 
number, however, exceeded five hundred. He asked the advice 
of the ambassador, as to what measures he should adopt in 
relation to them ; and whether it would be advisable to set them 
free at the Texel, on such security as might be obtained for the 
liberation of an equal number of Americans in England, 
or to send them to Dunkirk in the Countess of Scarborough, 
which was not fit for service, and the Vengeance, which might 
return with as many recruits as could be obtained. He also 



208 PAUL JONES. 

Stated his inability to comply with the instructions received 
from Franklin, through M. Dumas, without great and instant 
assistance. Though the hull of the Serapis was not too much 
damaged to be easily repaired, she wanted entirely new masts 
and rigging, sails, boats, and provisions. 

M. Dumas, the then unrecognised agent for the U. S. was 
enthusiastic in his diplomacy, and this was a misfortune. It is 
impossible to read his letters, without coinciding in opinion with 
those who have commented on the events of this period, that 
there was more affectation than ingenuity in the mystery he 
assumed ; and more ardour than utility in his impulses and 
movements. He was, however, a true friend of freedom and 
of America. A letter which he wrote to Jones on the 9th, is an 
amusing specimen of unnecessary mysticism. By taking the risk 
of aping CEdipus, one might learn from it that Jones had been at 
the Hague, where he had an interview with " the great man," 
meaning the French ambassador. We learn from his Journal, 
that Jones was sent for by this gentleman, who agreed with him 
in thinking it would be most expedient to send the prisoners to 
Dunkirk as soon as it could possibly be done. But, before 
making the attempt, it was agreed to remast the Serapis, as 
they were already apprised that small squadrons had been 
detached by the English government, to intercept Jones, on the 
east coast of England and Scotland, the coast of Norway, in the 
Irish channel, on the west of Ireland, and in the straits of 
Dover. M. Dumas, says in his official despatches to the com- 
mittee of foreign affairs, that Jones arrived at the Hague on 
the 8th, with a single domestic, and remained only until the next 
day, when he took post for Amsterdam. It appears from the 
beginning of the mysterious letter referred to above, that the 
commodore missed the post, or mail wagon, which " half dis- 
tracted" M. Dumas when he heard of it ; but he was " restored 
to his senses" by a coachman, who told him that Jones had 
overtaken it at the distance of eight or nine miles from the 
Hague. M. Dumas talks also of " a man in high station in the 
country," meaning, it is to be supposed, Mr. Van Berckel, the 



PAUL JONES. 209 

Grand Pensionary of Amsterdam, before whom he had laid 
certain matters at which he hints in idle riddles. The " man 
in high station" recommended expedition in preparing for what- 
ever was to be done, and informed M. Dumas, that there was 
a law, limiting the period during which foreign ships of war 
were allowed to wait for repairs in that port, when the wind 
permitted them to go out. M. Dumas enclosed his own in- 
structions, signed by M. Chaumont, and approved by Franklin. 
These were, to recommend the greatest circumspection to all 
the commanders of the squadron under the American flag, in 
their behaviour while in Holland, and to give the earliest advice 
of its arrival, in order that such supplies might be immediately 
forwarded as should be necessary, " without giving cause for 
any question being agitated, which might embarrass the Dutch 
in the conduct they thought it for their interest to observe 
towards England." 

On the 9th, Sir Joseph Yorke sent his ofiicial communication 
to their high mightinesses, in relation to the presence of the 
squadron. As it is brief, we insert it. 

" High and Mighty Lords, 

" The undersigned, ambassador extraordinary and plenipo- 
tentiary of the king of Great Britain, has the honour to com- 
municate to your high mightinesses, that two of his majesty's 
ships, the Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough, arrived 
some days ago in the Texel, having been attacked and taken 
by force, by a certain Paul Jones, a subject of the king, who 
according to treaties and the laws of war, can only be considered 
as a rebel and a pirate. The undersigned is therefore in duty 
bound to recur to your high mightinesses and demand their 
immediate orders that those ships with their officers and crews 
may be stopped, and he especially recommends to your 
humanity, to permit the wounded to be brought on shore, that 
proper attention may be paid to them, at the expense of the 
king his master. 

" Yorke." 
26 



210 PAUL JONES. 

When writing to Dr. Franklin, on the 11th, Jones was 
not apprised of this memorial having been presented. He 
stated, that he was doing all in his power to act upon the 
advice given by the French ambassador. He also expressed 
his determination to keep the captain of the Serapis in his hands, 
as a hostage, until Captain Cunningliam, who was a prisoner 
in England, should be released. He said, " I wish heartily that 
poor Cunningham, (whom I am taught to regard as a conti- 
nental officer,) was exchanged ; as with his assistance I could 
form a court martial, which I believe you will see unavoida- 
ble."* Of Captain Landais, he says : " he has come up here, and 
purposes, after gadding about in this city, to figure away at the 
Hague. He continues to affect an entire independence of my 
control, and has given in here an extraordinary demand for 
supplies of every kind. This famous demand, however, 1 have 
ventured to disapprove, and reduced to, I believe, a fourth part 
of its first extent. I hope to account to your satisfaction for my 
reasons ; among which is his having been so plentifully and so 
lately furnished." 

This valiant and " scattering" hero, was, according to several 
accounts besides this, making a famous report of his own ex- 
ploits. The terms of this extract show the manner in which 
Jones felt disposed to treat him ; which was, with contempt, not 
so openly expressed as to injure the service. He thought him 
of too little consequence to put him under arrest, at the risk of 
giving rise to dissatisfaction among the French. This com- 
mand of his temper, however, was such as less irritable discipli 



* I find no mention made in what are called the Nav^al Chronicles of the United 
States, of a commission having been given to Captain Cunningham in the navy. Ac- 
cording to Goldsborough, page 31, he received a commission for a privateer from 
Franklin and Deane. His cruise in the British channel made his name terrible in 
the mouths of the vulgar. When he was captured in 1778, and detained in the harbour 
of New York, he was treated with such severity, that Congress twice passed resolu- 
tions, threatening retaliation. A burlesque representation of him was exhibited in 
London. So says the anthority cited. He was at this time detained in England. 



PAUL JONES. 211 

narians might not have shown, even though good poHcy required 
it ; and his coolness and constant attention to the necessary 
business of refitting his squadron and disposing of the prisoners, 
during all the pending consultations in which he was so deeply 
interested, have been deservedly commented on as proving his 
capacity for the conduct of political movements of importance. 
A very excellent man, the Baron Vander Capellen, who was, as 
he styles himself, " an old and tried friend of America," and 
a member of the house of nobles of the province of Overyssel, 
wrote to Jones at this time, apparently instigated by the con- 
versation to which the valorous stories of M. Landais gave birth, 
asking as a favour, an account of the particulars " relating to a 
sea fight, rather to be found in the books of the former century, 
than in our present age, on the ocean." 

Jones wrote to the baron a respectful and discrete reply, 
enclosing a copy of his account of the cruise, with other docu- 
ments relative to his adventures. M. Dumas begged him not 
send the former, in its whole extent, as it would be improper 
for M. de Capelle, as he chose to designate that gentleman, to 
be acquainted with the complaints against M. de Chaumont 
He also informed Jones, that the baron, though a " very good 
republican," and a " well thinking private," knew nothing of the 
secret of his negociations Avith the " two great men," and was 
" excluded from any share of government in his country." 
The letter of Jones, to M. Vander Capellen contained the fol- 
lowing passage : 

" I was, indeed, born in Britain ; but I do not inherit the 
degenerate spirit of that fallen nation, which I at once lament 
and despise. It is far beneath me to reply to their hireling in- 
vectives. They are strangers to the inward approbation that 
gi-eatly animates and rewards the man who draws his sword 
only in support of the dignity of freedom. America has been 
the country of my fond election, from the age of thirteen, 
when I first saw it. I had the honour to hoist with my own 
hands the flag of freedom, the first time it was displayed on the 
river Delaware ; and I have attended it with veneration ever 



212 PAUL JONES. 

since on the ocean. .1 see it respected even here, in spite of 
the pitiful Sir Joseph ; and I ardently wish and hope very soon 
to exchange a salute >i'ith the flag of this republic. Let but 
the two republics join hands, and they will give peace to the 
world." 

It would, indeed, have been singular, if the burghers of Old 
Amsterdam had not felt sympathy for the fortunes of a people, 
some of whose most prosperous settlements had been made by 
their own ancestors; in which, though wrested from their sway, 
so much of their good habits was still preserved, and above all 
their pure and uncorrupted religion. Old and sacred associa- 
tions, commercial interests, and a like political feeling, made a 
strong party there, naturally attached to the cause of American 
independence. 

The letter from Franklin, dated on the 15th October, in 
reply to the despatches of Jones, dated the 3d, was as follows : 
and must have been so gratifying to him who received it, that 
it needs no commentary; but every line, including the postscript, 
is worthy of attention. 

"I received the account of your cruise and engagement with 
the Serapis, which you did me the honour to send me from the 
Texel. I have since received your favour of the 8th, from 
Amsterdam. For some days after the arrival of your express, 
scarce any thing was talked of at Paris and Versailles, but your 
cool conduct, and persevering bravery during that terrible con- 
flict. You may believe, that the impression. on my mind was 
not less strong than that of others ; but I do not choose to say 
in a letter to yourself all I think on such an occasion. 

" The ministry are much dissatisfied with Captain Landais, 
and Monsieur de Sartine has signified to me in writing that it 
is expected that I should send for him to Paris, and call him to 
account for his conduct, particularly for deferring so long his 
coming to your assistance ; by which means, it is supposed, the 
States lost some of their valuable citizens, and the king lost 
many of his subjects, volunteers in your ship, together with the 
ship itself. 



PAUL JONES. 213 

" I have, accordingly, written to him this day, acquainting 
him, that he is charged with disobedience of orders in the cruise, 
and neglect of his duty in the engagement ; that a court martial 
being at this time inconvenient, if not impracticable, I would 
give him an earlier opportunity of offering what he has to say 
in his justification, and for that purpose direct him to render 
himself immediately here, bringing with him such papers or 
testimonies as he may think useful in his defence. I know not 
whether he will obey my orders, nor what the ministry would 
do with him if he comes ; but I suspect that they may, by some 
of their concise operations, save the trouble of a court martial. 
It will, however, be well for you to furnish me with what you 
may judge proper to support the charges against him, that I may 
be able to give a just and clear account to Congress. In the 
mean time it will be necessary, if he should refuse to come, 
that you should put him under an arrest ; and in that case, as 
well as if he comes, that you should either appoint some person 
to the command, or take it upon yourself; for I know of no 
person to recommend to you as fit for that station. 

" I am uneasy about your prisoners, (504 in number,) I wish 
they were safe in France. You will then have completed the 
glorious work of giving liberty to all the Americans that have 
so long languished for it in the British prisons ; for there are 
not so many there, as you have now taken. 

"I have the pleasure to inform you that the two prizes sent 
to Norway, are safely arrived at Bergen. 

" With the highest esteem, I am, &c. 

" B. Franklin. 

" P. S. I am sorry for your misunderstanding with M. de C. 
who has a great regard for you." 

From the contents of a note from Captain Pearson to Jones, 
written on the 19th of this month, it is to be inferred, that the 
former was not apprised of the application made by Sir Joseph 
Yorke to their high mightinesses ; or, at least, of its terms and 
tenor. He charged Jones very plainly with a breach of the 



211 PAUL JONES. 

civility due to his rank, as well as his behaviour on all occasions, 
and expressed his opinion, that the detention of himself and his 
people on board ship for so long a time, was an unprecedented 
thing. Jones informed him, that the memorial of Sir Joseph, 
of which he enclosed liim a copy, had induced him to think it 
fruitless to pursue negotiations for the exchange of prisoners ; 
but that humanity had made him seek for permission to land 
the dangerously wounded. The consent of the government 
had been obtained, but the local magistrates still raised objec- 
tions. His reply was couched in terms of moderation, highly 
commendable, if we consider the epithets which the English 
ambassador had applied to him, and the bold, blunt style of 
Pearson's note. 

" I wished," he said, " to avoid any painful altercation with 
you on that subject ; I was persuaded that you had been in the 
highest degree sensible, that my behaviour ' towards you had 
been far from a breach of civility.' This charge is not, sir, a 
civil return for the polite hospitality and disinterested attentions, 
which you have hitherto experienced. I know not what differ- 
ence of respect is due to ' rank,' between your service and ours ; 
I suppose, however, the difference must be thought wry great in 
England, since I am informed that Captain Cunningham, of equal 
denomination, and who bears a senior rank in the service of 
America, than yours in the service of England, is now confined 
at Plymouth, in a dungeon, and in fetters.''''* 

He concluded by beseeching Pearson to interfere in behalf of 
this officer, as he expected orders from Dr. Franklin, in conse- 
quence of the treatment he was receiving. 

The resolution of their high mightinesses upon the application 
of the English ambassador, was delivered to him on the 25th. 



* As has been before remarked, the name of Captain Cunningham is not to be found 
in any of the lists of officers commissioned by Congress, before this period, which are 
contained in Sherburne or the Naval Chronicles. Jones in a letter to Franklin, which 
has been quoted, speaks of "being taught to regard him as a continental officer," 
seeming to imply that he was not such absolutely. I am unable to account for this, 
in connexion with the above assertion of his rank. 



PAUL JONES. 215 

It was prudently worded, setting forth that for a century, the 
States General had strictly observed it as a maxim, never to 
jiretendto judge of the legality or illegality of captures of vessels 
brought into the ports of the republic, not belonging to it ; that 
they only opened their ports to give shelter, to those making such 
captures, from storms or disasters, and obliged them to put to sea 
again without unloading ; that they were not authorised to pass 
judgment upon either the prizes or the person of PaulJones; and 
that they had already evinced their willingness to discharge the 
offices of humanity, by the orders they had given in relation to the 
wounded prisoners. This resolution was an echo and confirma- 
tion of one passed by the nobles and burgesses of the province 
of Holland, four days previous, as appears by the endorsement 
of M. Dumas, who said, in his official letter to the committee of 
foreign affairs, that the latter might truly be called voxpopuU.* 



* The ordinance of the States General referred to in their reply, had 
been passed and published as a placard, by the cautious republic in 
November, 1756, On the 8th of October, five days after Jones' arrival 
at the Texel, the Admiralty college of Amsterdam informed their high 
mightinesses, that Captain Rimersina the commandant, during the 
absence of Vice Admiral Reynst in the Texel road, had announced to 
them the entrance of five vessels under the command of Paul Jones, 
who had asked permission of him to land the English captains, and to 
hire a house for the reception of the wounded ; that they had replied, 
that neither request could be granted by them, and had referred to the 
terms of the placard. 

On the same 8th, the high mightinesses requested the opinion of the col- 
lege of Admiralty, on the memorial of Sir Joseph Yorke, to which, (reca- 
pitulating their,former communication, that they considered the ordi- 
nance of 1756 as plain and imperative, but not inconsistent with the dic- 
tates of humanity, which would be to permit the ships to make actually 
necessary repairs, and allow the sick and wounded attendance,) they re- 
phed that they would already have given orders to this effect, if they had 
considered themselves authorised so to do, but submitted to their high 
mightinesses that it was expedient. This communication was made on 
the 12th, and referred for consideration to the deputies for marine affairs. 



216 PAUL JONES. 

Sir Joseph Yorke from his long residence at the Hague, had 
obtained great influence over the Prince of Orange and what 
might be called the court party, as those opposed to English 
dictation were termed the French party. He was rewarded 
afterwards with a peerage for his services as a minister. He 
was far from being satisfied with the negative protection yielded 
by the States General to " the pirate Paul Jones," as he again 
called him in a memorial presented on the 29th. In this com- 
munication, after thanking their high mightinesses for their 
orders in relation to the wounded, he added: "I cannot but 
comply with the strict orders of his majesty, by renewing in the 
strongest and most pressing manner his request, that these ships 
and their crews may be stopped and delivered up, which the 
pirate Paul Jones, of Scotland, who is a rebel subject and a 
criminal of the state, has taken. 

" The king would think he derogated from his own dignity, 
as well as that of your high mightinesses, were he to enter into 
the particulars of a case so notorious as that in question, or to 



A resolution was passed by the States Generel on the 15th, expressed 
to be in consequence of the representation of the president of the 
assembly, on the information of Sir Joseph Yorke, by which, without 
prejudice to the ulterior deliberations of their high mightinesses on his 
memorial, the college of Admiralty of Amsterdam was authorised to 
permit the sick and wounded to be removed on shore, or to a hospital 
ship, and to furnish needful medical attendance. A very cautious 
proviso was added, that no change should be considered to have taken 
place in the relations of the parties, in consequence of this arrange- 
ment ; that the States General would be responsible for no escapes ; 
and that not more than three or four men, not sick or wounded, should 
be permitted to land from the ships, ai*med only with swords ; and 
that nothing should be done in the premises, without the knowledge 
and approbation of the officer commanding the vessels of the republic 
lying in the road, and the local authorities of the place where the 
wounded might be disembarked. On the 21st, the assembly of Hol- 
land and Westfrize passed the resolution referred to in the text. 



PAUL JONES. 217 

set before the eyes of the ancient friends and allies of his crown, 
analogous examples of other princes and states ; but will only 
remark, that all the placards even of your high mightinesses 
require that all the captains of foreign armed vessels shall, upon 
their arrival, present their letters of marque or commission ; 
and authorise, according to the custom of admiralties, to treat 
all those as pirates whose letters are found to be illegal, for 
want of being granted hy a sovereign power. 

" The quality of Paul Jones, and all the circumstances of the 
affair, are too notorious for your high mightinesses to be igno- 
rant of them. The eyes of all Europe are fixed upon your 
resolution ; your high mightinesses know too well the value of 
good faith not to give an example of it in this essential ren- 
contre. The smallest deviation from so sacred a rule, by 
weakening the principle of neighbours, may produce serious 
consequences." 

The logic of Sir Joseph was good. Jones had no other com- 
mission than that of America to produce. The States, however, 
replied as before, that they would not pass judgment on the 
legahty of the captures, and would act under the terms of their 
placard. In pursuance of their resolution, and of an order from 
the Prince of Orange, Jones prepared to remove the wounded 
to the fort on the Texel ; having permission to place sentinels to 
guard them, to raise the drawbridge at his pleasure, and re- 
move his prisoners if he saw fit. On the 31st,* an agreement 
was entered into between Jones and Pearson, agreeably to these 
arrangements. 

On behalf of his government. Captain Pearson agreed that 
all British prisoners so landed should be considered prisoners 
of war until exchanged ; and in case any of them should 
desert, he engaged that an equal number of American prisoners 
should be released in England, and sent to France by the next 



* There is a mistake in the date of this agreement in the copies made by order of 
Congress, in which it appears as executed on the 3d. 

27 



218 PAUL JONES. 

cartel. In cases of death, Jones stipulated not to claim an ex- 
change. 

In this agreement Jones took care that there should be no for- 
mal reservations. It is exjDressed to be between himself, " captain 
in the American navy, commander of the continental squadron 
now in the road of the Texel, and Richard Pearson, Esq. captain 
in the British navy, late commodore of the British Baltic fleet, 
and now a prisoner of war to the United States of North Ame- 
rica." On the 1st November, he gave his formal orders to 
Lieutenant Colonel Weibert, appointing him governor general 
over the wounded, and the soldiers who were to conduct them 
on shore, and directing him to take care that no cause of com- 
plaint should be given to the Dutch government or its subjects. 

The matter and manner of Jones' remarks in relation to M. 
de Chaumont, were such, that the latter could neither forget 
them nor treat them with no attention, while they remained 
unretracted. They estranged him from the commodore, 
except so far as official transactions rendered intercourse neces- 
sary. In writing, however, on the 11th, he does not appear to 
have seen a copy of the whole communication to Franklin, or 
to have been aware of its import ; as it is spoken of by Jones as 
a " very affectionate letter." In his reply, dated on the 24th, 
he returned his thanks for the "many complijnents and gene- 
rous praises bestowed on his past conduct ;" and said they af 
forded him the truest pleasure, as a proof that he still enjoyed a 
share of M. Chaumont's affection. There is no other allusion 
to the grounds of complaint than what is contained in the con- 
clusion of the letter, which was in these terms : 

" It shall be my pride to acknowledge every where how much 
I owe to the attentions of France, and to the personal friendship 
of M. de Chaumont, for furnishing me with the means of giving 
liberty to all the American prisoners now in Europe : for that is 
the greatest triumph which a good man can boast, and is there- 
fore a thousand times more flattering to me than victory. 

" I ardently wish for future opportunities to render real services 
to our common cause ; which is the only way I can hope to 



PAUL JONES. 219 

prove my gratitude to France, to America, and to my much 
loved friend M. de Chaumont, and his amiable family, with 
vi^hom I sincerely desire to live henceforth in the fullest confi- 
dence and affection. In the fullness of my heart, I am with 
the highest respect, my dear Chaumont, your truly obliged 
friend, &,c." 

This letter, it is to be presumed, is the same referred to in 
the following extract from one to Dr. Bancroft, dated on the 
26th, in which discretion was given to him as to its delivery. 

" M. de Chaumont has written me a very affectionate letter ; 
but then he had written me many equally affectionate letters 
even from the first of our acquaintance, offering me always the 
most disinterested services, until that of the 14th of June, 
whereof I enclose a copy. He has not yet offered me an 
apology respecting the dishonourable ' cancordaf which he af- 
terward imposed upon me at Groix. I love him, however, not- 
withstanding ; and as his excellency tells me that M. de Chau- 
mont has still ' a great regard for me,' that assurance revives 
all my former friendship, and will confirm it, if you think the 
answer which I have here enclosed is proper, and that the 
delivery of it will put a final end on his part to our misunder- 
standing. At any rate I pray you to present my warmest 
respects to the whole family, for whom I shall ever retain a 
grateful affection. 

" I am happy my dear sir, in being able to assure you that 
in spite of Sir .Toseph, the flag of freedom is highly respected 
indeed at the Texel. I had yesterday the honour to receive 
authority, by a unanimous resolution of the States, and by an 
order of the Prince of Orange, to land as many prisoners as I 
please, to place sentinels to guard them in the fort on the Texel, 
to haul up the drawbridge of that fort, and to take them away 
again from thence whenever I think proper, and dispose of them 
afterward as though they had never been landed. — Huzza, 
America!" 

It would be doing injustice to the subject, to omit the two 
following letters to the son and wife of M. de Chaumont, 



220 PAUL JONES. 

written at the same time, with which the correspondence 
terminated. 

" On board the Serapis, at tlie, Tcxel, Oct, 26, 1779. 

" M. Le Ray De Chaumont, Jmi. 

" You will pardon, my dear friend, my not having written to 
you earlier since my arrival here ; my silence has not, I assure 
you, been the effect of the little misunderstanding which unhap- 
pily took place between your father and myself when he imposed 
upon me a ' concordaf at Groix, which I thought and think still, 
I dishonoured my hand by signing. The ticklish and uncertain 
situation of the politics of this country, as affecting the flag of 
America, has hitherto so much occupied my attention, that I 
have found little leisure to write. My fears in that respect being 
now entirely removed by a unanimous resolution of the States 
General that is far more favourable to our cause than I had 
reason to expect, I employ this breathing space with great 
pleasure to assure you that my regard and affection for all the 
family of De Chaumont is far from diminished : I earnestly 
wish your father to give to oblivion the past misintelligence. I 
am persuaded that he will now see the impropriety of commu- 
nicating too early the intended enterprises and operations of a 
partisan, and no longer blame me for avoiding free conversa- 
tions on such subjects. It is not indeed my characteristic to be 
free of words. My heart, however, is no stranger to the senti- 
ments and duties of friendship, though my situation as a servant 
of the public leaves me without the power of obliging my private 
friends, except in the pleasure which I am persuaded they take 
in hearing of my success, when they have furnished me with 
the means. 

" It affords me pleasure to assure you, that I cannot too much 
praise the gallant behaviour of the young volunteer Baptiste 
Travallier, whom you sent to L' Orient ; in the engagement a 
sailor called for a wad in loading one of the great guns ; he fur- 
nished him immediately by substituting the coat which he then 
wore, and soon afterward, when the Bon Homme Richard was 



PAUL JONES. 221 

on fire, he instantly took off his shirt, and dipped it in water and 
apphed it with great dexterity to smother the flames. 

" Present my best respects to Madame de Chaumont and to 
your sisters. I beseech them and you to love me, and that 
your father will forgive my past fault, which was the effect 
only of my believing that he had less confidence in me than he 
had taught me to expect, and had always said I had merited." 

" October, 28, 1779. 
" To Madam Le Ray De Chaumont, 

" I can no longer, my dear madam, refrain from writing to 
you, although I have not been honoured with a line from you 
since my letter from L'Orient, dated 13th June. 

" I congratulate you on my late success, because I know it 
affords you pleasure ; and knowing this, is, I assure you, a 
very singular addition to my satisfaction. What has given 
me more pain, however, than words can express, has been a 
want of confidence on the part of M. de Chaumont after he had 
honoured me with strong proof of his friendship and good 
opinion. The ' concordat,' which to my great surprise, he im- 
posed upon me in the moment of my departure from L'Orient, 
was the most humiliating paper that ever a friend forced upon 
the commander of a squadron; and even my success has not 
wiped off the dishonour of my having signed it. 

" I am willing to believe that my friend did not see the con- 
cordat in the same light, and that the idea was not originally 
his own, but only by him adopted from the misrepresentations 
of persons who were constantly buzzing in his ear, and showing 
an infinity of theory which they have not since been quite so 
happy in reducing to practice. I say, as I verily believe, that 
the idea was not originally his own ; and as I love him still with 
undiminished and grateful affection, I earnestly wish him to 
forgive the complaints which I have made, and to continue 
towards me his first warmth of friendship and confidence. 

" My departure from hence is extremely uncertain, my des- 
tination, too, is better known to Dr. Franklin than myself at 



222 PAUL JONES. 

present. Our ships are now in a severe storm. I mention 
this only to show that I can, in no situation, forget how much I 
owe to the poUte attentions and friendship of the amiable family 
at Passy, which I beseech you to believe I shall ever remember 
with sentiments of the most lively esteem and affection, being 
very truly, your obliged friend, &c." 

M. Chaumont was not conciliated by these letters, as indeed, 
if he felt himself unjustly charged with indiscreet and injurious 
revelation of state secrets, it could not have been expected he 
ever would be. He was, moreover, of a temperament not free 
from irascibility ; and was labouring under the pressi^ of ad- 
vances made by him to support the armies of France in Ame- 
rica. The difficulty of obtaining reimbursements for these 
advances, led subsequently to a widening of the breach between 
him and Jones, by occasioning a detention of prize money. They 
had no personal interviews of a friendly character, in which 
mutual explanations might have been made. 

On the 28th of October, Jones wrote to La Fayette, appa- 
rently in good spirits. The following is an extract : 

" I am very much concerned and ashamed to understand that 
my ' numbers' that you received from L'Orient, were so ill 
composed. It is a proof that their ladyships, the Muses, however 
condescending they may be on the banks of the Helicon, will 
not despense their favours to the sons of Neptune, especially 
while they are 

By bounding billows and rude winds that blow, 
Alternate toss'd in air, or sunk to sands below, 

" In truth, my dear General, I am almost as sorry that you 
have not been able to understand my meaning as if I had been 
addressing myself to — a fair lady! The enclosed key will, how- 
ever, I hope unlock the past difficulty, and enable you fully to 
see what I so much wish you to understand. 

" I will send you very soon, a little work that shall be better 
finished than that from L'Orient ; and in the mean time a 
machine, to which the present key is adapted, is forwarded 



PAUL JONES. 223 

through the hands of Dr. Bancroft, in case you should have 
spoiled or thrown away the one formerly sent. 

" The late brutalities of the Britons in America, fill me with 
horror and indignation. They forget that they are men ; and 
I believe that nothing will bring them to their senses but the 
most exemplary retaliation. Landais is ordered to Paris to 
answer for his past conduct. > ^ ^ .. . 

" I wish to answer very particularly the three points which 
you have propounded. 1st, I never meant to ask a reward for 
my services, either from France or America ; consequently the 
approbation of the court and of Congress is all the gratifica- 
tion I can wish for. 2dly, I yet intend to undertake whatever 
the utmost exertion of my abilities. will reach in support of the 
common cause, as far as any force that may in future be in- 
trusted to my direction may enable me to succeed ; I hope, 
however, my future force will be better composed than when I 
sailed from L'Orient. I must sail from the Texel in course of 
next month, because ships cannot afterward remain here in this 
road. My destination or route from hence I yet know not ; but 
I need not tell you that I wish to see your face ! 3dly, It is now 
in vain to say what might have been done two years ago with 
the force you mention ; but I believe, if properly supported by 
sea, such a force might yet perform very essential service. 
There is no guarding, you know, against storms ; and one would 
wish either to avoid or to outsail a superior sea force. As I be- 
lieve you know my way of thinking on such subjects, I shall offer 
you no argument. I know you want no prompter." 

Baron Vander Capellen had addressed Jones a second time, 
asking permission to publish his letter to the Countess of Sel- 
kirk, and inquiring whether he had ever been under any obli- 
gation to the husband of that lady. He also asked him whether 
he had a French commission. The first request Jones declined 
granting. " I am much obliged to you, my lord, (he said,) for the 
honour you do me, by proposing to publish the papers I sent 
you ; but it is an honour which I must decline, because I can- 



224 PAUL JONES. 

not publish my letter to the lady, without asking and obtaining 
her consent ; and because I have a very modest opinion of my 
own writings ; being conscious that they are not of sufficient 
value to claim the attention of the public. I assure you, my 
lord, it has given me much concern to see an extract of my 
rough journal in print ; and that, too, under the disadvantage 
of a translation. That mistaken kindness of a friend, will make 
me cautious how I communicate my papers." He also informed 
the baron, that Lord Selkirk knew him only by reputation. 
In reply to the question of the worthy nobleman, whether he 
had a French commission, he briefly said, " I never bore or 
acted under any other commission, than what I have received 
from the Congress of the United States of America." 

And none other would he accept, while his so doing would 
be an implied admission, that the flag of the new repubhc 
was not an all sufficient protection for its vessels and citizens. 
His zeal for its honour is not more commendable, than the pru- 
dence he exhibited in his then very equivocal situation ; block- 
aded as he was from without, (for the combined fleet of France 
and Spain had returned to Brest, and the enemy's light cruisers 
were actively on the look out for him,) and menaced within the 
harbour, by the persevering demands and powerful interest of 
the English ambassador. So that though the stars and stripes 
were flying, and his own sentinels guarding a fortress intrusted 
to his command, he was aware to the fullest extent, of the pre- 
carious nature of the security he had for the tenure of his ship 
and prisoners, and indeed for his personal safety. If his sense 
of this had been obtuse, it was about to be quickened, in a man- 
ner which admitted of no misconception. 

The charges against Landais were drawn up by the officers 
of the squadron, on the 30th October, and attested by them. 
They were twenty-five in number, and have already been suf- 
ficiently adverted to. The last was, that in coming into the 
Texel, Landais declared, that if Captain Jones should hoist a 
broad pendant, he would, to vex him, hoist another. 

The nature of the embarassments with which Jones was 



PAUL JONES. 225 

beset at this time, will best appear from his own accounts. He 
says briefly, in his journal, that " with the most indefatigable 
attention and industry, gales of wind, and other circumstances 
prevented him from having the Serapis remasted, and the 
squadron ready to sail, before the middle of November." On 
the 4th of that month, he thus wrote to the French ambassador. 

*' My Lord, 

" This morning, the commandant of the road sent me word 
to come and speak to him on board his ship. He had before 
him on the table a letter, which, he said, was from the Prince 
of Orange. He questioned me very closely whether I had a 
French commission, and, if I had, he almost insisted upon see- 
ing it. In conformity to your advice * Cet avis donne au com- 
mencement n'etoit plus de saison depuis I'admission de I'escadre 
sous Pavilion Americain,' I told him that my French commis- 
sion not having been found among my papers since the loss 
of the Bon Homme Richard, I feared it had gone to the bottom 
in that ship ; but that, if it was really lost, it would be an easy 
matter to procure a duplicate of it from France. The com- 
mandant appeared to be very uneasy and anxious for my de- 
parture. I have told him, that as there are eight of the enemy's 
ships laying wait for me at the south entrance, and four more 
at the north entrance of the port, I was unable to fight more 
than three times my force ; but that he might rest assured of 
piy intention to depart with the utmast expedition, whenever I 
found a possibility to go clear. 

" I should be very happy, my lord, if I could tell you of my 
being ready. I should have departed long ago, if I had met 
with common assistance ; but for a fortnight past I have every 
day expected the necessary supply of water from Amsterdam 
in cisterns, and I am last night informed that it cannot be had 
without I send up water casks. The provision, too, that was 
ordered the day I returned to Amsterdam from the Hague, is 
not yet sent down ; and the spars that have been sent from 
Amsterdam are spoiled in the making. None of the iron-work 

28 



226 PAUL JONES. 

that was ordered for the Serapis is yet completed, so that I am, 
even to this hour, in want of hinges to hang the lower gun 
ports. My officers and men lost their clothes and beds in the 
Bon Homme Richard, and they have yet got no supply. The 
bread that has been twice a week sent down from Amsterdam 
to feed my people, has been, literally sj)eaking, rotten, and the 
consequence is, that they are falling sick. 

" It is natural also that they should be discontented, while I 
am not able to tell them, that they will be paid the value of their 
property in the Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough, if either 
or both of them should be lost or taken after sailing from hence. 

"Thus you see, my lord, that my prospects are far from 
pleasing. I have but few men, and they are discontented. If 
you can authorise me to promise them, at all hazards, that their 
property in the prizes shall be made good, and that they shall 
receive the necessary clothing and bedding, &c. or money to 
buy them, I believe I shall soon be able to bring them again 
into a good humour. In the mean time, I will send a vessel or 
two out to reconnoitre the offing, and to bring me word. What- 
ever may be the consequence of my having put into this har- 
bour, I must observe, that it was done contrary to my opinion ; 
and I consented to it only, because the majority of my colleagues 
were earnest for it." Contemplating a speedy departure at 
all hazards, he wrote to M. Dumas on the same day, that if the 
weather permitted, what was necessary yet to be done, might 
be effected in four or five days. He added : 

" With respect to the powers of Captain Pearson, I am con- 
vinced that he has received no authority from Sir Joseph Yorke. 
His powers, however, must be as ample as mine ; and I should 
not, I assure you, have made such a convention with him, if 
Captain Rimersina, on the part of the States General, had not 
given me, verbally, free liberty to land the wounded prisoners, 
and to guard them in the fort on the Texel, by my soldiers with 
drawn swords, and with the bridges hauled up at our plea- 
sure ; and with free liberty to embark them again, and dispose 
of them as though they had not been landed in Holland. You 



PAUL JONES. 227 

see, therefore, that my convention with Captain Pearson does 
not bind me to continue the prisoners ashore ; I can embark 
them again whenever I please, and it was only intended on my 
part as a security against elopement. They have hitherto been 
guarded with the drawbridges hauled up or let down at the 
sovereign will and pleasure of the ' Governor General.' If my 
wishes succeed, it will afford America matter of exultation ; and 
at the worst we can only lose eighteen or nineteen dangerously 
wounded prisoners, which Ithink willbe made up by our having 
had possession of a fort on the Texel. I shall only add, that 
my meaning has been good ; and that I thought I might rely 
on the guarantee, that I had on the part of the States General, 
while we could keep the prisoners from making their escape 
from the fort." 

But M. de Sartine had determined upon a measure which 
prevented Jones from immediately attempting an escape, and 
from carrying out, under the flag to which she had stuck, the 
dearly bought Serapis. On the 6th of November, that minis- 
ter thus briefly wrote to Dr. Franklin : " Circumstances require 
that the expedition of the squadron, under the orders of Mr. Jones 
should terminate at the Texel. It seems indispensable to give 
a new destination to the different ships which compose it. You 
are at liberty, sir, to dispose of the American frigate, the Al- 
liance, according to the views you may entertain in relation to 
the service of the United States. 1 pray you only, to observe 
to Mr. Jones, or any other officer to whom you may intrust the 
command, that he must not have any subject of the king on 
board of that frigate." The minister had resolved to adopt the 
shortest course, in relation to the vessels which were the pro- 
perty of France, and probably had no doubt that Jones would 
be willing to accept a commission from that government, to 
extricate himself from his now solitary and dangerous position. 
He was mistaken. 

In communicating a copy of this note to Jones, Franklin 
observed, that the injunction as to the king's subjects might ex- 
tend to Landais, who had not yet arrived. He remarked : " I 



228 PAUL JONES. 

suppose you will learn the intentions of the minister, relative 
to the disposition of the prizes, from the ambassador ; and that 
you will go on board the Alliance yourself. I am anxious that 
the prisoners should be safely lodged in France, and should 
earnestly recommend that matter to your attention if I did not 
know that you desire, as much as I do, the exchange of our 
poor countrymen." 

While these unpleasant documents were on their way, M. Du- 
mas had repaired to the Helder, where he was busily engaged in 
endeavouring to expedite the departure of the squadron. On 
the 12th, the ambassador having received the instructions of 
M. de Sartine, recalled Dumas to the Hague, and directed him 
to inform Jones that he must suspend his sailing until he re- 
ceived new orders ; but lose no time in the business of repairs. 
The Dutch vice admiral had on the same day given him notice, 
that he was expected to sail with the first fair wind. This offi- 
cer, named Reynst, had been appointed to the command of the 
Dutch fleet, consisting of thirteen men of war, by the Prince 
of Orange. Mr. Rimersina, a friend of America, and who had 
treated the squadron with every civility, was removed from that 
command. 

If Sir Joseph had not effected all his object, he had suc- 
ceeded in placing Jones in such jeopardy that his escape with 
safety and honour seemed hopeless.* Their high mightinesses 



* In the Life of Jones, published in Edinburgh, the following note is inserted : 

"About this time, a seaman's wife of Burlington addressed a letter to Sir Joseph 
Yorke at the Hague, imploring tidings of her husband, of whom, since the engage- 
ment of Jones with the Serapis, she had never heard, and who, she feared, had fallen 
in that fight. Sir Joseph gallantly and humanely complied with the poor Englishwo- 
man's request, and as he was aware that his epistle to Mrs. Buruot would appear in all 
the English and French newspapers, he, with considerable covert humour, contrived 
to have a hit at the shuffling policy of the Dutch, and the chameleon character of 
the squadron they sheltered, while he replied to the seaman's wife — 

" ' Mrs. Burnot — As soon as I received your letter of the 7th instant, I lost no 
time in making inquiries after your gallant husband, Mr. Richard Burnot; and have 
now great pleasure in congratulating you upon his being alive and well, on board the 



PAUL JONES. 229 

had continued their dehberations on the points reserved, which 
had been pressed upon them in the EngUsh ambassador's re- 
monstrance of October 29th. On the 17th November, the 
Duke De Vauguyon informed M. Dumas, that the States of Hol- 
land had come to the conclusion, by a plurality of votes, to 
constrain Jones to depart, and directed hira to repair forthwith 
to the Texel, and make the necessary arrangements. On the 
19th, the States General resolved that they would persist in 
maintaining their ancient maxim, not to decide upon the legal- 
ity of captures under foreign flags, which maxim, they added, 
was even founded upon treaties ; but that they had already 
given evident proof of their not wishing to render any aid to 
the inhabitants of the British colonies in America, by giving 
orders that Jones should be furnished with no munitions of war 
or other articles, other than were necessary to enable bim to 
make the nearest port ; and that, in case of necessity, they 
would even constrain him to sail, as soon as his vessels could 
keep the sea, and the wind permitted. They repeated an ex- 
press disavowal of their intending, by any implication, to recog- 
nise the independence of the Colonies. And they directed the 
Admiralty college at Amsterdam to advise Jones, that the ap- 
proaching season of winter would make his departure inconve- 
nient ; to avoid which, it was necessary that he should let no 
opportunity escape of putting to sea; " that such was the serious 



Coantess of Scarborough, at the Texel. I find he had been burnt with an explosion 
of gunpowder, but is now quite recovered. He sends ine word, that he, as yon know, 
could not write, and therefore hoped I would let you know he was well, which I do 
with infinite satisfaction. It will still be greater, if I can get him exchanged, which I 
am doing my best endeavours for ; but, as the people who took him are sometimes 
French and sometimes rebels, as it suits their convenience, that renders this affair more 
difficult than it would be if they allowed themselves to be French ; because I could 
then settle the exchange at once. I am happy to be able to give such agreeable news 
to the wife of my brave countryman, and I am very sincerely your most faithful 
humble servant, 

" 'Joseph Yorke. 
' ' Hague, Nov. 26, 1779.' " 



230 PAUL JONES. 

intention of their high mightinesses, and they could not expect 
that by opposing it, he would oblige them to take measures which 
would be disagreeable to him." And they required his serene 
highness (the Prince of Orange) to order the officer command- 
ing in the Texel road to see to it {tenir la main) with all dis- 
cretion, and permit no delay which the nature of the case did 
not render unavoidable, not excepting the use of forcible means, 
if they were found necessary. 

It is proper to record, that the previous resolutions, passed on 
the 17th, by the States of the province of Holland, composed of 
eighteen towns and the body of nobles, (the latter having one 
voice,) were protested against by six of the principal towns. 
The deputies of Dordrecht, Rotterdam, and Schiedam, assented 
to the resolution only so far as it conformed to that adopted on 
the 21st October, and dissented from that part authorising 
force to be employed, as being premature, and contrary to the 
ancient maxims and customs of the republic. They protested 
that they would not be responsible for the consequences ; and 
reserved the right to such ulterior comments and measures of 
opposition, as might be deemed proper by their constituents. 
The deputies of Haeriem in very strong language, and, as they 
said, by the express orders of their constituents, declared their 
dissent. The deputies of Amsterdam declared that they op- 
posed and " held for null, the conclusion of a report of the 13th, 
on the last memorial of M. the ambassador Yorke, concerning 
the reclamation of the vessels. Sec. inasmuch, as the said re- 
port tends to the employment of means of constraint and even 
violence, to compel the commander Paul Jones to depart casu 
qiu) from the Texel road." And, together with the before men- 
toned protesting towns, they considered a meagre plurality of 
voices insufficient to sanction a measure which they deemed un- 
constitutional, as being inconsistent with the ordinance and 
placard of 1756. The deputies of the town of Brille refused 
to assent to the report, and reserved all rights till further 
instructed by their principals. The towns of Horn and Erek- 



PAUL JONES. 231 

huysen were not represented by their deputies, when these re- 
solutions passed. 

M. Dumas relates, that he repaired to the Texel on the 18th, 
and that the arrangements made necessary by the orders of 
Sartine and Franklin, were prosecuted during the ten following 
days ; the vice admiral giving a great deal of trouble, particu- 
larly after receiving his instructions founded on the resolutions of 
the States General. Though the wind was contrary, he was 
unremitting in his urgency, and even threats of violence. On 
the 24th, his captain en second visited the squadron and read 
aloud a paper, which he then returned to his pocket. M. Du- 
mas, foreseeing, as he says, the contents, had prepared a reply ; 
demanding, in future, copies of all orders and menaces, in order 
that they might be transmitted to Congress and to Dr. Frank- 
lin. To another pressing message on the 28th, M. Dumas 
caused an answer to be given, " in a high voice, before all the 
crews and the rowers of the boat which brought the messenger, 
that the vice admiral exacted impossibilities." This declaration 
he made the pilot sign, and they were then left undisturbed for 
ten days. In an extract from a letter, from the Hague, which 
was forwarded among the papers sent by M. Dumas to the com- 
mittee of foreign affairs, it is stated, that " after Paul Jones 
had declared himself ready to comply with the orders of their 
high mightinesses, whenever he was able to sail at large, Vice 
Admiral Reynst, having sent Captain Van Overmeer on board 
the Serapis, to give new notice in the most serious manner to 
the commanding officer, that he must get a coast pilot, and sail 
with the first favourable wind, the captain was informed that 
this vessel was no longer commanded by Paul Jones, but by 
Captain Cottineau de Cosgelin, who had taken possession of her, 
in the name of the king of France." The Stadtholder, it is 
added, thereupon wrote to the vice admiral to use no forcible 
measures, until further orders, against vessels whose com- 
manders held French commissions ; but advised him that pre- 
vious orders remained in force, as regarded the Alliance, actually 
commanded by Jones ; and at the same time charged him " to 



232 PAUL JONES. 

take care that none of the prisoners who had not been con- 
ducted into the road, and put on board said vessel, should 
be carried there." These directions, the letter adds, were com- 
municated to their high mightinesses, who approved of them, 
reserving the right of ulterior deliberation on subsequent mea- 
sures ; and in the mean time copies of the agreement between 
Jones and Pearson were put into circulation. 

Jones had indeed made up his mind to comply with the triple 
requisitions of France, Dr. Franklin, and the States General ; 
but he was determined to fulfil the expectations of the Ameri- 
can ambassador as to the exchange of prisoners, while there 
was the least hope of his doing so. On the 27th, he wrote to the 
Duke de la Vauguyon, expressing his admiration of " the warm 
and persuasive zeal which he had so nobly displayed at Amster- 
dam, for the service of the best of kings." He expressed his regret 
that, in endeavouring to comply with his promise to his crew, he 
had been compelled to ask for them conditions, which the duke 
did not feel at liberty to grant. To comply with those promises 
and effect the exchange of American prisoners in England, 
were, he said, the two interesting objects, which, " and not any 
natural obstinacy of temper, produced that inflexibility which 
gave your excellency so much trouble to overcome. But, the 
conflict being now past, I am, (in full confidence,) made happy 
by having yielded to the Duke de la Vauguyon." " I consider 
myself as being entirely dismissed from any connexion with the 
court. I complain not of the measure ; but as I am unconscious 
of having in any instance lost sight of the points of duty that 
were given me in charge, I confess I have been and am hurt, 
at the manner in which I have been dismissed. The more so, 
as the connexion was not at the beginning of my seeking ; and 
as I never asked, nor meant to ask a favour for myself from 
the minister," 

The order Franklin had found it necessary to grant, involved 
the delivery of the prisoners to the French ambassador. The 
Serapis and Countess of Scarborough were also taken from 
under his orders. It was not without a pang that he resigned 



PAUL JONES. 233 

the command of the former vessel ; which had recently cost the 
British government a large sum of money, was a new ship, and 
sufficiently refitted for sea. He found it imperatively necessary 
to remove to the Alliance, on board of which alone the Ameri- 
can flag was now flying, and from which the preceding letter 
was dated. When, and in what terms the offer to accept a 
French commission was first made to him, does not very dis- 
tinctly appear. He states generally in his Journal, that Holland 
agreed to give convoy to the fleet bound for Brest, and that the 
French court wished him either to accept a commission and 
hoist the flag of France on board all the ships of the squadron 
and the prizes, or go on board the frigate Alliance. He chose 
the latter, he says, for many reasons ; but " his superior motive 
was to preserve the honour of the American flag, in the worst of 
times. In any other light it was a most disagreeable and mor- 
tifying change." The Alliance had not a good cable or sail ; 
the officers and men were intemperate and idle ; filth, insubor- 
dination, and epidemical diseases, prevailed among the crew ; 
she was badly supplied with small arms, and her powder was of 
bad quality. The latter wants Jones was, however, enabled to 
supply, from the superfluous number of small arms found on 
board the Serapis, and the powder which had been transferred 
to the Pallas from the Bon Homme Richard, when the latter 
ship was on fire, the morning after the action. He also had 
two cables, procured for the Serapis at Amsterdam ; without 
which the Alliance would have been lost in the gales that pre- 
vailed at the Texel, before she sailed from thence, when all lier 
other cables broke. 

The letters from the French ambassador to Sartine and 
Franklin, show that the gratitude expressed to the ambassa- 
dor by Jones, was not unmerited; and that the former had 
pressed upon his government the claims urged by the latter, 
on behalf of the rights of his crew, under the laws and usages of 
the United States of America. 

On the 29th, Jones wrote to Dr. Franklin, expressing a hope 
that his conduct on the second interview with the French am- 

29 



234 PAUL JONES. 

bassador, (referred to by M. Dumas,) would meet with his 
approbation. " I do not," ho said, " well understand the rea- 
sons of this alteration ; but M. Dumas, who was present, can 
inform you, that I have done every thing in my power, to secure 
the prisoners, without a quarrel with the ambassador. I have 
a hundred prisoners on board here, among whom are all that 
were landed and guarded for three weeks by our people, in the 
fort on the Texel. I shall, with this ship, embrace the first fair 
wind for L'Orient. I hope to take some good prizes by the 
way, and on my arrival there to meet with your further orders. 
I should have come onboard here, on the departure of Captain 
Landais, agreeable to your letter of the 15th ult. had it not 
been from delicacy ; as that mistaken man had said I had 
made interest with you to supersede him in the command of 
this frigate ! If he has any sensibility, it will be a sufficient 
punishment for him to know that, till the engagement with the 
Serapis, I was his friend, and had never written his name to 
you, without saying something in his favour. * * * * It is natu- 
ral for me to wish, that the Serapis should become the property 
of America. It is the best ship that I ever saw of the kind; 
and would cost the continent less than any frigate that has yet 
been under our flag. I wish to embrace you once more, before 
I leave Europe; but my private feelings, I hope, shall never 
divert my attention from my duty." 

In a postscript, he added, " I have the pleasure to inform 
you that Captain Cunningham is now here with me." There 
was at any rate one consolatory circumstance, in which he had 
reason to congratulate himself on the consequence of his own 
firm conduct towards the English captain and the haughty 
ambassador. 

Not confining himself to remonstrances with the magistrates 
and legislatures, and to intrigues with public characters, who 
could aid him in thwarting the escape of Jones, there is no 
reason to doubt, that Sir Joseph Yorke oifered rewards for the 
private apprehension of the American commodore. Jones does 
not scruple to charge him, in his subsequent references to this 



PAUL JONES. 235 

period, with practising clandestinely to get possession of his 
person. In a statement drawn up by Mr. Van Berckel, grand 
pensionary of Amsterdam, attested in every particular by M. 
Dumas, it is said, " the ambassador did all in his power with the 
magistrates and private citizens of Amsterdam, to cause them 
to lay hands upon the person of the commodore, and to deliver 
him up to him ; but in vain. No person had the baseness or 
the courage to undertake his desire in this respect." 

On the 1st December, meditating his departure at all hazards, 
whenever the wind should serve, (which, however, it did not 
until the 27th,) we find Jones returning his thanks to Captain 
Rimersina for his personal civilities, and the attention shown to 
the American flag, while he had commanded in the road. On the 
5th, while forwarding despatches for Congress, enclosed to the 
Hon. Robert Morris, he thus wrote to that gentleman: " I am 
persuaded you will observe with pleasure, that my connexion 
with a court is at end, and that my prospect of returning to 
America approaches. The great seem to wish only to be con- 
cerned with tools, who dare not speak or write truth. I am not 
sorry that my connexion with them is at an end. In the course 
of that connexion, I ran ten chances of ruin and dishonour for 
one of reputation : and all the honours or profit that France 
could bestow, should not tempt me again to undertake the same 
service with an armament equally ill composed, and with pow- 
ers equally limited. It affords me the most exalted pleasure to 
reflect, that, when I return to America, I can say, that I have 
served in Europe at my own expense, and without the fee or 
reward of a court. When the prisoners we have taken are 
safely lodged in France, I shall have no farther business in 
Europe, as the liberty of all our fellow citizens, who now suffer 
in English prisons will then be secured ; and I shall hope here- 
after to be usefully employed under the immediate direction of 
the Congress." 

At the same time that these despatches were transmitted, he 
drew up his memorial from the Texel, frequently referred to in 
the former part of this work. It bears date December 7th. In 



236 PAUL JONES. 

it he minutely recapitulated the events, with which he had been 
connected while in the public service in America, more briefly 
adverted to the transactions detailed in his despatches from 
Europe; and thus concluded: " I now hope to appear in Ame- 
rica, in a short time hence, and to have the honour to present 
my respects in person to Congress ; for I give up the expecta- 
tion of ever commanding the Indien ; and as I believe the pri- 
soners I have taken will effect the exchange of all our fellow 
subjects, who are now in the English prisons, I shall hope to be 
afterwards more usefully employed under the immediate direc- 
tion of Congress. I have not drawn my sword in our glorious 
cause for hire, but in support of the dignity of human nature, 
and in obedience to the genuine and divine feelings of philan- 
thropy. I hoisted with my own hand the flag of freedom, the 
first time that it was displayed on board the Alfred on the 
Delaware, and I have attended it ever since with veneration on 
the ocean. I claimed and obtained its first salute from that of 
France, before our independence was otherwise announced in 
that kingdom, and no man can wish more ardently to support its 
rising glory than myself. 1 never have asked, and I have now 
to ask no other favour from Congress, than the continuance of 
that good opinion, which has in time past made me so happy, and 
so greatly overpaid my endeavour to do my duty." 

The final arrangement adopted in relation to the prisoners, 
by the express wish of his majesty the king of France, was, that 
they should be exchanged for French prisoners at the Texel ; 
France giving the same number in France, to exchange against 
the Americans in England. This was effected with a great 
deal of difficulty. The hundred of whom Jones speaks, in the 
letter to Franklin last quoted from, were the sick and wounded 
who had been landed at the Fort, and whom he persevered in 
retaining, under his express agreement with Captain Pearson. 

Whatever might have been the previous propositions as to his 
accepting a French commission, an offer was now made by di- 
rection of M. de la Sartine, and communicated by the ambas- 
sador, which excited the indignation of Jones in no small degree ; 



PAUL JONES. 237 

and it will not be thought, under all the circumstances, that he 
expressed it in language either too strong or not sufficiently 
respectful. He thus addressed the French ambassador, on the 
I3th December. 

" My Lord, 

" Perhaps there are many men in the world, who would 
esteem as an honour the commission that I have this day refu- 
sed. My rank from the beginning knew no superior in the 
marine of America ; how then must I be humbled were I to 
accept a letter of marque ! I should, my lord, esteem myself 
inexcusable, were I to accept even a commission of equal or su- 
perior denomination to that I bear, unless I were previously 
authorised by Congress, or some other competent authority in 
Europe. And I must tell you, that on my arrival at Brest from 
the Irish channel, Count D'Orvilliers offered to procure for 
me from court, a commission of ' Capitaine de Vaisseau,' which 
I did not then accept for the same reason, although the war 
between France and England was not then begun, and of course 
the commission of France would have protected me from an 
enemy of superior force. 

" It is a matter of the highest astonishment to me, that, after 
so many compliments and fair professions, the court, should 
offer the present insult to my understanding, and suppose me 
capable of disgracing my present commission. I confess that I 
never merited all the praise bestowed on my past conduct, but 
I also feel that I have far less merited such a reward. Where 
profession and practice are so opposite, I am no longer weak 
enough to form a wrong conclusion. They may think as they 
please of me; for where I cannot continue my esteem, praise 
or censure from any man is to me a matter of indifference. 

" I am much obKged to them, however, for having at last 
fairly opened my eyes, and enabled me to discover truth from 
falsehood. 

" The prisoners shall be delivered agreeable to the orders 



* ' 



238 PAUL JONES. 

which you have done me the honour to send to me, from his 
excellency the American ambassador in France. 

" I will also with great pleasure, not only permit a part of my 
seamen to go on board the ships under your excellency's orders, 
but I will also do my utmost to prevail with them to embark 
freely ; and if I can now or hereafter, by any other honourable 
means, facilitate the success or the honour of his majesty's 
arms, I pledge myself to you as his ambassador, that none of 
his own subjects would bleed in his cause with greater freedom 
than myself, an American. 

" It gives me the more pain, my lord, to write this letter, be- 
cause the court has enjoined you to prepare what would destroy 
my peace- of mind, and my future veracity in the opinion of the 
world. 

" When, idth the consent of court and by order of the Ameri- 
can ambassador, I gave American commissions to French 
officers, I did not fill up those commissions to command priva- 
teers, nor even for a rank equal to that of their commissions in 
the marine of France. They were promoted to rank far supe- 
rior ; and why .'' not from personal friendship, nor from my 
knowledge of their services and abilities, (the men and their 
characters being entire strangers to me,) but from the respect 
which I believed America would wish to show for the service of 
France. 

" While I remained eight months seemingly forgot by the 
court at Brest, many commissions, such as that in question, were 
offered to me ; and I believe, (when I am in pursuit of plunder,) 
I can still obtain such an one without application to court. 

'• I hope, my lord, that my behaviour through life will ever 
entitle me to the continuance of your good wishes and opinion, 
and that you will take occasion to make mention of the warm 
and personal affection with which my heart is impressed towards 
his majesty. " I am, <fcc. &c." 

To Franklin, to whom he enclosed the copy of this letter, he 
broke out in terms less constrained. 



PAUL JONES. 239 

" I hope," he said, " that the within copy of my letter to the 
Due de la Vauguyon will meet your approbation ; for I am 
persuaded that it never could be your intention or wish that I 

should be made the tool of any great r whatever ; or that 

the commission of America should be overlaid by the dirty 
piece of parchment which I have this day rejected ! They have 
played upon my good humour too long already, but the spell is 
at last dissolved. They would play me off with assurance of 
the personal and particular esteem of the king, to induce me to 
do what would render me contemptible even in the eyes of my 
own servants ! Accustomed to speak untruths themselves, they 
would also have me to give under my hand that I am a liar and 
a scoundrel. They are mistaken, and I would tell them what 
you did to your naughty servant. ' We have too contemptible 
an opinion of one another's understanding to live together.' I 

could tell them, too, that if M de C had not taken such 

safe precautions to keep me honest by means of his famous con- 
cordat, and to support me by so many able colleagues, these 
great men would not have been reduced to such mean shifts ; 
for the prisoners could have been landed at Dunkirk the day 
that I entered the Texel, and I could have brought in double 
the numbers." 

" We hear that the enemy still keeps a squadron cruising off 
here, but this shall not prevent my attempts to depart, when- 
ever the wind will permit. I hope we have recovered the trim 
of this ship, which was entirely lost during the last cruise ; and 
I do not much fear the enemy in the long and dark nights of 
this season. The ship is well manned, and shall not be given 
away. I need not tell you I will do my utmost to take prisoners 
and prizes in my way from hence." 

The squadron of Holland, (thirteen two-deckers,) according 
to his Journal, had been drawn up and barricaded every day 
for battle, for more than a month, to drive him out if he should 
attempt to remain after the wind became fair, while the English 
fleet was almost constantly in sight off the harbour." On the 
16th, the Vice Admiral Reynst sent to request him to come on 



240 PAUL JONES. 

board of his ship, from which he excused himself. On the next 
day the vice admiral wrote to him : " I desire you by this pre- 
sent letter, to please to inform me how I must consider the 
Alliance which you are on board of: whether as a French or 
American vessel. If the first, I expect you to cause his majesty's 
commission to be shown to me, and that you display the French 
flag and pendant, announcing it by discharging a gun. If the 
second, I expect you to omit no occasion of departing, according 
to the orders of their high mightinesses." This letter Jones 
communicated to the Fxench commissary of marine at Amster- 
dam, the Chevalier de Lironcourt, then at the Helder, who in 
his immediate reply, courteously suggested that Jones would 
give the highest satisfaction to all parties by displaying French 
colours, but said that he would urge him no more ; assuring 
him that the brevet which had been tendered to him was only 
intended for the existing exigency, and the good of the common 
cause ; and not offered from any of the discreditable motives 
imagined by him. .Tones briefly answered the admiral that he 
had no orders to hoist any other flag ; and that whenever the 
pilot would take it upon him to conduct the ship to sea, he would 
give him his best assistance. 

On the 21st, the Duke de la Vauguyon, addressed an epistle 
to Jones, well calculated to soothe his exasperated feelings, and 
which had the desired effect to a certain extent. 

" I perceive with pain, my dear commodore," he said, " that 
you do not view your situation in the right light ; and I can as- 
sure you that the ministers of the king have no intention to 
cause you the least disagreeable feeling, as the honourable 
testimonials of the esteem of his majesty, which I send you, 
ought to convince you. I hope you will not doubt the sincere 
desire with which you have inspired me to procure you every 
satisfaction you may merit. It cannot fail to incite you to give ' 
new proofs of your zeal for the common cause of France and 
America. I flatter myself to renew, before long, the occasion, 
and to procure you the means to increase still more the glory 
you have already acquired. I am already occupied with all the 



PAUL JONES. 



241 



interest I promised you ; and if my views are realized, as I have 
every reason to believe, you will be at all events perfectly con- 
tent , but I must pray you not to hinder my project by deliver- 
ing yourself to the expression of those strong sensations to which 
you appear to give way, and for which there is really no found 
ation. You appear to possess full confidence in the justice 
and kindness of the king ; rely also upon the same sentiments 
on the part of his ministers." 

In reply, Jones wrote as follows, on the 25th : "I have not 
a heart of stone, but am duly sensible of the obligations con- 
ferred on me by the very kind and affectionate letter, that you 
have done me the honour to write me the 21st current. * * * * 
Were I to form my opinion of the ministry from the treatment 
that I experienced while at Brest, or from their want of con- 
fidence in me afterwards, exclusive of what has taken place 
since I had the misfortune to enter this port, I will appeal to 
your excellency, as a man of candour and ingenuity, whether I 
ought to desire to prolong a connexion that has made me so 
unhappy, and wherein I have given so very little satisfaction. 
M. le Chevalier de Lironcourt has lately made me reproaches 
on account of the expense that, he says, France has been at to 
give me reputation, in preference to twenty captains of the royal 
navy, better qualified than myself, and who, each of them, 
solicited for the command that was lately given to me ! 

" This, I confess, is quite new, and indeed surprising to me; 
and, had I known it before I left France, I certainly should 
have resigned in favour of the twenty men of superior merit. I 
do not, however, think that his first assertion is true ; for the 
ministers must be unworthy of their places were they capable of 
squandering the public money only to give an individual reputa- 
tion ; and as to the second, I fancy the court will not thank him 
for having given me that information, whether true or false. I 
may add here, that with a force so ill composed, and with 
powers so limited, I ran ten chances of ruin and dishonour for 
one of gaining reputation ; and had not the plea of humanity 
in favour of the unfortunate Americans in English dungeons 

30 



242 PAUL JONES. 

superseded all consideration of self, I faithfully assure you, my 
lord, that I would not have proceeded under such circumstances 
from Groix. I do not imbibe hasty prejudices against any in- 
dividuals ; but when many and repeated circumstances, con- 
spiring in one point, have inspired me with disesteem towards 
any person, I must see convincing proof of reformation in such 
person before my heart can beat again with affection in his 
favour ; for the mind is free, and can be bound only by kind 
treatment. * * * * I hope I shall not through any imprudence 
of mine, render ineffectual any noble design that may be in con- 
templation for the general good. Whenever that object is 
mentioned, my private concerns are out of the question ; and 
where 1 cannot speak exactly what I could wish with respect to 
my private satisfaction, I promise you in the mean time to ob- 
serve a prudent silence." 

It is truly wonderful, that Jones should have found time, in 
the midst of the difficulties in which he was involved, and the 
quantity of business which it was necessary for him to attend to 
in person, during his three months' blockade in the Texel road, 
to have committed to paper such a mass of correspondence as 
has even been preserved. This long memorial must have been 
composed about the time of its date. He was in daily corres- 
pondence with the diplomatic M. Dumas, to whom he submitted 
all his letters for his inspection and advice. He had, however, 
in the beginning of November, refused very warm and pohte 
invitations, to visit either Amsterdam or even the Hague. 
" Duty," he said, " must take the precedence of pleasure. I 
must wait a more favourable opportunity to kiss the hands of 
the fair." He was indeed most intensely and indefatigably 
employed all this time, in persevering efforts to effect the fixed 
purpose of his soul, let fluctuating neutral policy take what 
course it might, or vacillating ministers yield what points they 
might think unimportant, or Sir .Joseph Yorke fulmine or in- 
trigue as he pleased. We find Jones subsequently apologizing 
for not having answered in rhyme the metrical effusions of a 
young lady, the daughter of M. Dumas, who did poetical homage 



PAUL JONES. 243 

to the chivalric and gallant commodore, and whom he styled 
the " Virgin Muse." Verily, he had other business to transact 
than that of tagging couplets together ; and though he aspired 
most devoutly to please the fair, and was dearly sensible of their 
attentions, I can find no foundation for the remark of one of his 
biographers, that his neglect to answer the last copy of the 
lady's verses, " appears to have weighed more on his mind than 
all the squadrons and remonstrances of the enemy." It only 
drew somewhat heavy draughts on his stock of complimentary 
language, and vocabulary of badinage. 

On the 27th of December, the wind serving, he set sail from 
the Texel, leaving, to use the musty proverb, the frying pan, 
in which he had been so long kept hot, at the risk of encounter- 
ing the fire, with which the English cruisers would have been 
well pleased to have favoured him. From the Alliance, at sea, 
he wrote on this day to M. Dumas : 

" I am here, my dear sir, w*th a good wind at east, and 
under my best American colours — so far you have your wish. 
What may be the event of this critical moment I know not ; I 
am not, however, without good hopes. Through the ignorance 
or drunkenness of the old pilot, the Alliance last night got foul 
of a Dutch merchant ship, and I beheve the Dutchmen cut our 
cable. We lost the best bower anchor, and the ship was brought 
up with the sheet anchor so near the shore, that this morning I 
have been obliged to cut the cable in order to get clear of the 
shore, and that I might not lose this opportunity of escaping 
from purgatory." 

His Journal for the King, contains the following account of 
this nice and successful operation of seamanship. " He passed," 
he states, " along the Flemish banks, and, getting to windward 
of the enemy's fleets of observation in the North Sea, he the 
next day passed through the Straits of Dover, in full view of 
the enemy's fleet in the Downs. The day following Captain 



244 PAUL JONES. 

Jones ran the Alliance past the Isle of Wight, in view of the 
enemy's fleet at Spithead, and in two days more got safe through 
the Channel, having passed by windward in sight of several of 
the enemy's large two-decked cruising ships. Captain Jones 
wished to carry with him some prizes and prisoners to France ; 
but the Alliance, by the arrangement Captain Landais had 
made of the ballast at L'Orient, was out of trim, and could not 
sail fast, her sails being too thin and old for cold latitudes. He 
steered to the southward, and cruised for some days without 
success off Cape Finisterre. On the 16th of January, 1780, 
Captain Jones, to shun a gale of wind, and procure a sound 
anchor, (for he had left the Texel with only one,) ran into Co- 
rogne. He was very kindly received in Spain, but sailed again, 
and arrived at Groix on the 10th February, having taken no 
prizes ; but met with and conducted in the American merchant 
ship Livingston, with a large cargo of tobacco, from Virginia 
for Bordeaux." 

It is barely necessary here to beg the reader to remember, 
that the conduct of Jones during his stay in the Texel, placed 
Holland in such a situation, that England could not but treat 
her as an alienated friend ; that the formal manifesto or decla- 
ration of war, published at the end of the year 1780, set forth 
the entertainment of Jones' squadron, and the license given to 
him to depart, (a license not very enviable under such circum- 
stances,) as the main acts which justified open hostility ; that 
few of the few celebrated " Retreats," either on land or water, 
in which neither honour nor any material point of vantage was 
lost, can overmatch that of Jones from the Texel ; and we may 
be spared from attempting formal panegyric on actions, which 
have few parallels in history, when the performance involved 
such important political results. 

Three days after being at sea, on this skittish voyage, we 
find Jones actually fulfilling his obligations to his fair correspon- 
dent at Amsterdam, by writing a copy of verses, as good as those 
of any naval commander whom we happen to think of, except 
Sir Walter Raleigh ; and of a kind which though rejected by 



PAUL JONES. 245 

" Gods and columns," served in the days of our forefathers to 
please very respectable " men" and women too.* The pro- 
duction was dated on the New Year's day of 1780. According 
to our modern notions, were it not that in the second and third 
stanzas, he got irregularly rid of three lumbering Alexandrines 
introduced in the first, his metre had as much pretension to be 
called poetry, as nine tenths of the vers de societe of the French 
Classical School, or the magazine poetry of England and its 
colonies, at that period. 

Previous to his entering the port of L'Orient in February, 
we find but two letters from his pen, which are preserved. He 
wrote from Corunna on the 16th January to La Fayette, men- 
tioning very briefly his detention in the " detestable road" of the 
Texel, and his mortification at being offered a letter of marque. 
"I steered this way," he said, "in hopes of meeting some of 
their cruisers off" Cape Finisterre, but am hitherto disappointed. 
It being very stormy weather, I this evening anchored here, 
where I mean only to scrub the bottom, and take a little fresh 
water, &c." On the 20th, he addressed the president of Con- 
gress, from on board the Alliance off" Corunna, enclosing quad- 
ruplicate despatches. He expressed a hope that his refusal of 
a French commission would not be disagreeable to Congress, 
and gave a particular detail of the manner in which forty Eng- 
lish ships of the line and frigates, (two of which were lost,) were 
for six weeks stationed to intercept him. 

Before proceeding with the transactions subsequent to his 
arrival at L'Orient, the situation of the two prizes sent by Lan- 
dais to Norway, " under the nose of Jones," as h<d expresses it, 
and in defiance of his orders, claims a passing notice. 

The ship Betsy, of 22 guns and 84 men, and the Union of the 
like force, with a quantity of naval stores on board, arrived at 
Bergen on the 12th September, under the conduct of two of the 
officers of the Alliance. Immediate attention was paid to them 



♦ See Appendix No. IX. 



246 PAUL JONES. 

by the consular agent of France, M. Dechezaulx, who wrote to 
apprize Dr. Franklin of their arrival, and also to M. Caillavd 
the charge d'affaires of France at the court of Denmark. These 
prizes were of value,* but had suffered considerably at sea, and 
stood in need of repairs. They were also badly manned. M. 
Dechezaulx had instructions from Sartine, to render the same 
services to vessels of the United States, as to those of France. 
He was in hopes that the sale of these prizes would be allowed 
or overlooked by the Danish authorities, though the indepen- 
dence of the United States had not been recognised by that 
court ; but of course expected the most vehement opposition 
from the English consul. This apprehension was soon dis- 
agreeably realized. On the 26th of October, he wrote to inform 
Franklin that a resolution had been adopted by the court of Den- 
mark, " unjust and contrary, to the law of nations," to restore 
the ships to the English government, and that they had been 
delivered up accordingly. The decision had been sudden and 
totally unexpected. The order given by Landais to the officers 
who had them in charge was, simply to conduct them to Ber- 
gen, and M. Dechezaulx had no authority, without receiving 
orders from Franklin, to send them away, had they been in a 
condition to put to sea. The resolution was not communicated 
to the French charge d'affaires, until some time after it had 
been made, during which time he had conferences with the 
Danish minister in relation to the prizes. Nothing could be 
done under these circumstances by the American officers, who 
were obliged to go on shore with upwards of twenty men, and 
with no provision made for them, except to enter their formal 
protest against the proceedings. The governor, however, 
assured them that he would exert himself in their behalf; and 
the principal merchants offered them every assistance. A few 
weeks after, the governor informed them, that he was author- 
ized to pay their expenses, and that there was a probability that 



* M. Dechezaulx estimated them to be worth at least 40,000i. sterling. 



PAUL JONES. 247 

the ships would be paid for, to the satisfaction of the American 
government ; a cheap promise, never fulfilled. Franklin ad- 
dressed Count Bernstoff, the Danish minister, on the subject. 
But his letter was not received until the 31st of January. On 
the 4th of that month, we find the oflicers, five in number, with- 
out any advices from Franklin, representing that, " they greatly 
regretted remaining in such an inactive state, being unable to 
render any service whatever, either to their country or them- 
selves." Of those prizes, which became subsequently the sub- 
ject of much negotiation, it is only necessary to add here, that 
they were totally lost to the United States, by the perverse folly 
and wilful disobedience of Landais. Another prize called the 
Charming Polly, was also sent to Bergen, where she arrived 
after the Union and Betsy, and shared the same fate. 

The events of the year 1780, during which Jones was in 
France, and the correspondence of that period must be suc- 
cinctly referred to. The latter is voluminous, and with the help 
of imagination some romance might be constructed out of the 
letters of fair ladies, known and anonymous. But our business 
is with truth, and we must confine ourselves within certain 
limits. 

From the fatigues Jones had undergone, his health was im- 
paired, and when he anchored at Groix, he was almost blind 
from the soreness of his eyes. He went up to L'Orient for a 
change of air, whence he addressed Franklin on the 13th of 
February. His first object was to repair the Alliance ; and he 
set about his preparations for that business with a zeal, and on 
a scale, which the economical Franklin in vain endeavoured to 
control and reduce. The cutwater of that vessel had been 
wrenched out of its place, and her trim could not be regained 
without altering the arrangement of the ballast, which .Tones 
says, he understood " Captain Landais had extended along the 
ceiling from the stem post to the stern ; an idea that I believe 
he may without vanity call his own." Jones had ordered can- 
vass and cordage from Amsterdam. He also proposed to sheathe 
the bottom with copper, if it could be afforded. The other 



248 PAUL JONES. 

ships left in the Texel road had arrived in France, the Dutch 
fleet giving them convoy. The Serapis was at L'Orient, and 
her conqueror wished she. could be made the property of Ame- 
rica. The Countess of Scarborough was at Dunkirk. The 
American minister found himself compelled to use the language 
of supplication. 

" As to refitting your ship at the expense of this court," he 
said, " I must acquaint you that there is not the least proba- 
bility of obtaining it, and therefore I cannot ask it. 1 hear too 
much already of the extraordinary expense you made in Hol- 
land, to think of proposing an addition to it, especially, as you 
seem to impute the damage she has sustained, more to Captain 
Landais' negligence, than to accidents of the cruise. The 
whole expense will, therefore, fall upon me, and I am ill provi- 
ded to bear it, having so many unexpected calls upon me from 
all quarters. I, therefore, beg you would have mercy on me, 
put me to as little charge as possible, and take nothing you can 
possibly do without. As to sheathing with copper, it is totally 
out of the question. I am not authorized to do it, if I had money; 
and I have not money for it, if I had orders. The purchase 
of the Serapis is in the same predicament. I believe the send- 
ing canvass and cordage from Amsterdam has already been 
forbidden ; if not, I shall forbid it. I approve of your applying 
to Messrs. Gourlade and Moylan for what repairs you want, 
having an exceeding good opinion of those gentlemen ; but let 
me repeat it, for God's sake be sparing, unless you mean to make 
me a bankrupt, or have your drafts dishonoured, for want of 
money in my hands to pay them." 

To this earnest exhortation, Jones said in reply, " I feel your 
reasons for urging frugality ; and as I have not hitherto been 
among the most extravagant servants of America, so you may 
depend upon it, my regard for you will make me particularly 
nice in my present situation." In his answer to questions sub- 
sequently proposed by the American board of Admiralty, which 
had now been established, Jones gives a truly deplorable account 
of the condition of the Alliance, which, on being thoroughly ex- 



PAUL JONES. 249 

amined, proved deficient and inconvenient in its original con- 
struction, and altogether ill contrived. The essential repairs 
were finished by the middle of April, by the crew of the ship 
and four or five American carpenters. The materials of the 
old arrangement nearly sufficed to finish the new. Jones says, 
"judges allowed that when the business was finished, every thing 
about that frigate was perfect. I know not what was the 
amount of the disbursements." In his Journal for the kins, he 
says, " She was thought one of the completest frigates in France." 
It may easily be conjectured that the entreaties of the illustrious 
author of Poor Richard were not always remembered, while this 
metamorphose was in process. 

At this time, he seems to have thought that an opinion was 
entertained, probably on account of his having rejected the 
French commission so indignantly, that his feelings towards the 
nation were unfriendly. This impression he thought it neces- 
sary to counteract. Writing to La Fayette, he said : "With- 
drawn as I am at present from the public attention, and having 
endeavoured only by my past conduct to prove my zeal for the 
common cause, it is strange that I cannot escape the malicious 
attacks of little minds. If any person, who has himself deserved 
well of his country, can accuse me of ingratitude, let him 
step forth like a man, and I will answer en liomme dlionneur. 
* * * * To come to the point, here follows my political profes- 
sion. I am a citizen of the world, totally unfettered by the 
little mean distinctions of country or of climate ; which diminish 
or set bounds to the benevolence of the heart. * * * * As an 
American officer, and as a man, I affectionately love and re- 
spect the character and nation of France, and hope the alliance 
with America may last for ever. I owe the greatest obligation 
to the generous praises of the French nation on my past con- 
duct, and shall be happy to merit future favour. I greatly love 
and esteem his most christian majesty as the great ally of Ame- 
rica, the best of kings, and the amiable friend and ' protector 
of the rights of human nature ;' therefore, he has very few of 
his own subjects who would bleed in his present cause with 

31 



250 PAUL JONES. 

greater freedom than myself, and none who are more disinte- 
rested. At the same time, I lament the calamities of war, and 
wish above all things, for an honourable, happy, and lasting 
peace. My fortune is not augmented by the part I have hitherto 
acted in the revolution, (although I have had frequent oppor- 
tunities of acquiring riches,) and I pledge myself to the worthy 
part of mankind, that my future conduct in the war shall not 
forfeit their good opinion. I am ever, with great and sincere 
affection, happy in your friendship, &c." 

He gave assurances to the Duke de Vauguyon to the same 
effect. 

" There are, my lord, some of my secret enemies base 
enough to insinuate that I do not love the nation of France ; 
but be assured that, though I felt myself hurt by some measures 
that were adopted .towards me, and for which I cannot yet see 
any good reason, yet I have never written, spoken, or even 
thought, disrespectfully of the nation." 

It was unquestionably for the interest of any man of common 
prudence, inider Jones' circumstances, to endeavour to conci- 
liate the "ood will of the French nation. His forbearance as 
to Landais proved that he acted upon this conviction. He had 
certainly no great cause to love M. de la Sartine, nor to feel 
particularly warm towards the captains who had been asso- 
ciated with him, from whatever cause their disagreement might 
have arisen. But he was certainly honest in his professions of 
regard for the nation ; and the subsequent honours he received 
at court increased that regard fervently. 

It was Franklin's intention to send the Alliance back, as soon 
as she should be in a condition to make the voyage. Jones would 
not have opposed this purpose ; though it may fairly be supposed 
that the interest he took in the disposition which might be 
made of his prizes did not make him anxious to expedite his 
departure while this was uncertain, and his crew were without 
either wages or prize money. We have no reason to believe 
that he made any unnecessary delay, when the thorough repairs 
the Alliance underwent are considered. Four gentlemen, one 



PAUL JONES. 251 

of whom was Mr. Arthur Lee, were desirous of coming out to 
America by that opportunity, and Jones had promised to " pay 
the most cheerful regard to their accommodation." Frankhn 
also wished to send to the United States large supplies of arms 
and clothing, (15,000 stand of good arms, and 120 bales of 
public cloth,) of which Jones said, "he hoped to be able to cram 
a great part, if not the whole, into the Alliance." This could not 
have been done with any convenience, without a material change 
in the arrangenient of that ship. On the 1st of March, Franklin 
wrote that M. Sartihe desired a place for another passenger, 
and expressed a wish that room should be made for 3Ir. Brown 
of South Carolina. He added : " Captain Landais has de- 
manded of me an order to you, to deliver him his trunks and 
things that were left on board the Alliance. I find him so ex- 
ceedingly captious and critical, and so apt to misconstrue as an 
intended injustice, every expression in a language which he 
does not immediately understand, that I am tired of writing any 
thing for him or about him, and am determined to have nothing 
further to do with him. I make no doubt, however, that you 
will deliver his things to any person he may empower to receive 
them, and therefore think such an order unnecessary. * * * * 
Dr. Bancroft being by this time with you, will take all steps 
possible to promote your refitting, and forward the payment of 
the prize money. I do not comprehend what the weight of 
metal has to do with the division, unless when ships are fitted out 
by different armors. I hope your indisposition will soon be over, 
and your health re-established." On the 4th of the same month, 
Franklin wrote to the president of Congress, that Jones would 
carry the Alliance home, unless prevailed on to enter another 
service, which he did not think likely ; that Landais had not 
applied to be replaced in her, and had expressed to him and to 
other persons his dissatisfaction with his officers, and his incli- 
nation on that account to leave her. This lunatic who was 
subject to be tried as an American officer, by a court martial, 
was also liable as a subject of France, and as holding its com- 
mission, to the summary jurisdiction exercised in that country. 



252 PAUL JONES. 

When Franklin, in a letter addressed to Jones while the latter 
was at the Texel, alluded to the " concise operations" of the 
ministry, he probably had the Bastile in his mind. It is not 
probable that pains would have been taken to bring Landais, by 
an American court martial, or that he would have been further 
noticed, had not injudicious and officious individuals led him 
to adopt a course of conduct, which still further injured the 
service. 

He was now, however, instigated by meddljng individuals, 
and prompted by his own solemn vanity to ask, to be 'placed in 
the command of the Alliance. He wrote to this effect, on the 
17th March. The answer of Franklin was plain and severe 
enough : " No one ever learned the opinion I formed of you 
from inquiry made into your conduct. I kept it entirely to my- 
self. I have not even hinted it in my letters to America, because 
I would not hazard giving to any one a bias to your prejudice. 
By communicating a part of that opinion privately to you I can 
do no harm, for you may burn it. I should not give you the 
pain of reading it, if your demand did not make it necessary. I 
think you then, so imprudent, so litigious, and quarrelsome a 
man, even with your best friends, that peace and good order, 
and consequently the quiet and regular subordination so neces- 
sary to success, are, where you preside, impossible. These are 
within my observation and apprehension. Your military opera- 
tions I leave to more capable judges. If, therefore, I had 
twenty ships of war in my disposition, I should not give one of 
them to Captain Landais. The same temper which excluded 
him from the French marine, would weigh equally with me. Of 
course I should not replace him in the Alliance." 

Previous to the letter of Franklin, of March 4th, the board of 
admiralty had resolved to order the Alliance home, with such 
supplies as she could bring out. It had been judged necessary 
to detach four ships to guard the harbour of Charleston, which 
left the coasts exposed to the depredations of the enemy's 
armed vessels from New York. On the surrender of Charles- 



PAUL JONES. 253 

ton in May following, these four frigates fell into the hands of 
the enemy. 

On the 18th of March, Franklin wrote, that after his de- 
spatches should have been received, with some of the supplies, 
he knew of nothing to prevent Jones from proceeding imme- 
diately to such port in North America as he could reach with 
safety. He said : "I wish the prize money due to your people 
could be paid before you go. I have spoken often about it." 
He mentioned that it was thought doubtful whether any thing 
could be recovered by peaceable means, for the prizes surren- 
dered in Norway. " The ships of war that you took are, I hear, 
to be valued, the king intending to purchase them ; and the 
muster roll of the Bon Homme Richard is wanting in order to 
regulate the proportions to each ship. These things may take 
time. I have considered that the people of the Bon Homme 
may want some little supplies for the voyage ; and therefore, if 
these proportions should not be regulated and paid before you 
sail, and you find it necessary, you may draw on me, as far as 
24,000 livres to advance to them, for which they are to be ac- 
countable ; but do not exceed that sum. I do this to prevent, 
as far as in me lies, the bad effect of any uneasiness among 
them ; for I suppose that regularly all payments to seamen should 
be made at home." He added his wishes that Jones should 
join, if possible, the convoy which was to sail at the beginning 
of the next month, and sail with it until off the coast, but left it 
to his discretion and judgment. On the 1st of April, he for- 
warded to him an order for the delivery of the arms above re- 
ferred to, and 100,000 pounds of gunpowder ; and informed him 
that M. Le Ray de Chaumont had directed his correspondent 
at L'Orient, to advance 100,000 livres, for the Americans of the 
Alliance and Bon Homme Richard, on account. In relation to 
the distribution of the prize money, Franklin, the best authority, 
said in answer to the questions of the admiralty board, that 
no agreement had been made by him or on his behalf, with the 
armors of the ships acting in concert with the Alliance. That 
he supposed the division would be according to the laws of 



254 PAUL JONES. 

France or America, as might be found most equitable ; but that 
the captains had entered into an agreement, called the concor- 
dat, to divide according to the rules of America, under whose 
commissions and colours they acted. To this provision of the 
concordat, Jones, it will be remembered could have had no ob- 
jection, as he had urged before its being signed the propriety of 
adopting an equal plan of distribution. Franklin, in the answer 
before referred to, gives a true and brief account of a long story, 
as follows. He says, that the officers and men of the Alliance 
" were encouraged by some meddling passengers to persist. 
The king would have taken the prizes, and paid for them, at 
the rate per gun, &.c. as he pays for warlike vessels taken by 
his ships, but they raised a clamor at this, it being put into their 
heads that it was a project for cheating them, and they demand- 
ed a sale by auction. The minister, who usually gives more, 
when ships are taken for the king, than they will produce by 
auction, readily consented to this, when I asked it of him ; but 
then this method required time to have them inventoried, adver- 
tised in different ports, to create a fuller concurrence of buyers, 
&c. ; Captain Jones came up to Paris, to hasten the proceed- 
ings. In his absence Captain Landais, by the advice of Mr. 
Lee and Commodore Gillon, took possession of the ship, and 
kept her long in writing up to Paris, waiting answers, <fcc." 

The matters above recapitulated must be referred to more 
m detail ; but the reader will best understand from it the 
difficulties about the adjustment of claims for prize money. 

The 100,000 livres, were not forth coming, with the instan- 
taneity expected by Jones. On the 4th of April, Jones wrote 
to Franklin, " I fear that you will now find that M. Chaumont 
has imposed upon you, by promising what he has had no inten- 
tion to perform. He has given me no means of advancing 
money here ; and if the people remain much longer dissatisfied, 
1 tremble, aiid let him tremble too, for the consequence. Besides 
the affairs mentioned in the written letter, he has made another 
proposition that an honest man would be ashamed of. I wait 
for something further by the next post, for I am very loth to 



PAUL JONES- S55 

expose his conduct, and willing to give him time to repent." 
Such was the strong language which he used under immediate 
disappointment and misapprehension. While it requires inser- 
tion, it equally requires such explanation as can readily be given* 
Jones supposed M. Chaumont, the commissary, as he called 
him, to have money of the government in his hands or at com- 
mand. The fact was, that he was largely in advance on his 
own account to the new republic ; and that the offer to advance 
the 100,000 livres, was a voluntary one. It has already been 
mentioned that the correspondence between him and Jones, ex- 
cept as it was official, had ceased. What was meant by the 
** shameful" proposition spoken of is left for conjecture. It is 
certain that neither Franklin nor La Fayette ever found out 
any thing that was disgraceful in the conduct of M. de Chau- 
mont. It also appears that the latter, having all the risk upon 
his own shoulders, wanted the business vouchers, which would 
at least be evidence of his advances, whether he could ever re- 
cover them or not. According to a memorandum given by 
Jones to M . de la Sartine on the 20th May, it appears that M. 
de Chaumont, wished the muster roll of the crew of the Bon 
Homme Richard to state the men's wages as commencing in 
June, when many of them had enlisted in February and March. 
At that time, those rated according to his request, had been 
paid. Objections were made • also to the payment of 30,000 
livres, to the crew of the Alliance, for the time during which 
they served under Jones on the expedition, which Franklin had 
not the appropriate funds to meet. Happily for the compiler, 
it is unnecessary to explore the reasons, or their meritS; for 
these distinctions, or enter into calculations of dollars and cents. 
The only other letter of Jones from L'Orient at this time, was 
addressed to Dr. Bancroft, on the 7th of April. It is amusing 
as a specimen of those " machines" and " locks" which wanted 
" keys," which he alluded to in a letter to La Fayette, and 
which he was fond of manufacturing. " Judge of my surprise," 
he said, " when Mr. Bancroft assured me, that our man at the 
entrance of the garden, never changed any of his plans that he 



256 PAUL JONJES. 

had formed for me, until he found that they could not succeed. 
Is it possible that he, (Mr. B.) can have forgot, that he himself 
asked and obtained from me my ideas in writing, at the desire, 
as he told me, of the court, in June or July, 1778 ? He ought 
now to be sensible, that neither our man nor himself at that time 
appeared to know any thing about marine affairs. You may 
remember what I showed you on that subject ; but that our 
man should have given my ideas to the minister as his own, is 
contemptible, and shows his real character. I have often re- 
pented that I consented to give some of my ideas in writing ; 
but there is little danger that they will run away with the glory 
from me, by carrying them well into execution." Who " our 
man" was, the reader has a right to guess for himself. I am 
unable to do so. 

Jones had now determined to go to Paris. In the fragment 
of a letter without date, ascertained from the contents to have 
been written in 1792, he says : " Though my crews were almost 
naked, and I had no money to administer to their wants, yet 
my constant applications to court for two months, produced no 
relief, no payment whatever, either for salary or prize money. 
I was on the point of sailing back to America without any ap- 
pearance of obtaining justice ; without the least acknowledg- 
ment direct or indirect, that the court was satisfied with my 
services ! Under these circumstances, in a moment of despair, I 
came to court to demand satisfaction." The want of such an 
*' acknowledgment" weighed 'undoubtedly much more with 
him than the consideration of any proportion of the prize money 
to which he vfos, personally entitled. No intelligent person, on a 
review of his life and correspondence, (notwithstanding that his 
own inartificial protestations of disinterestedness, would, in or- 
dinary cases, be read backwards,) will hesitate to believe, that 
he loved the voice of praise and breath of renown, immeasura- 
bly beyond " all Bokhara's vaunted gold." But, as it is unphi- 
losophical to search for more than a sufficient cause for a 
common event, we see little sense in the speculations of Jones' 
biographers, as to the motives which led him to repair to Ver- 



PAUL JONES. 257 

sailles ; and are content to take the word of Franklin and his 
own, that he went there to " hasten the proceedings" in relation 
to the prize money. In his Journal for the king, he says that, 
in consequence of the clamours among the officers and seamen, 
" after he had tried every thing that writing to Paris could do, 
without effect, he by the advice of many American gentlemen, 
then at L'Orient, went himself to court to demand that the 
prizes might be sold, and the seamen paid, agreeably to the 
laws and usages of the American flag." This permission was 
granted, and orders given to expedite the business of making out 
inventories, advertising, &c. mentioned by Franklin. 

There is a discrepancy in Jones' accounts of this period, from 
a want of dates, and from some being general and others in detail. 
He could not have been mistaken, after the lapse of any number 
of years, as to his first reception by the minister. In the frag- 
ment quoted from, written in 1792, which is unquestionably in 
his own hand, he proceeds to say : " The minister of the United 
States accompanied me to M. de Sartine, who gave us a recep- 
tion as cold as ice, did not say to me a civil word, nor even ask 
me if my health had not suffered from my wounds, and the un- 
common fatigue I had undergone. The public did me more 
justice than the minister, and I owe to the king alone the flat- 
terins: marks of distinction with which I was honoured." This 
first impression as to the minister's coldness was revived and 
expressed as above, in a moment of sickness and exaspera- 
tion, and while writing angrily to another dilatory minister of 
marine. It is quoted from the draft, and there is no evidence 
that a copy was ever sent. Be this as it may, he said nothing 
about it in his answers, rendered a year after the transaction, 
to the questions by the board of admiralty. We quote part of 
the 30th answer, which may be reconciled vi^ith the other state- 
ment, by C9nsidering that it was unnecessary and impolitic to 
dwell minutely on the polar reception first given to him by M. 
de la Sartine, when a reference to it could only injure the public 
interest. And the cause of that frigidity is readily found, in the 



32 



258 PAUL JONES. 

manner in which Jones had expressed himself in relation to M. 
de Chaumont. To proceed to the answer : 

" M. le Ray de Chaumont had promised from day to day, to 
remit the government monies to L'Orient, for the payment of 
wages, and also 100,000 livres, in part of prize money, to be 
divided among the Americans of the squadron, then on board 
the Alliance ; but at last, instead of complying with either, he 
prevailed on the minister of the marine to order the Serapis to 
be valued in the French way, for account of the king, and with- 
out giving the captors any satisfaction whatever, or obtaining 
their leave or consent, the workmen in the port began to rip up 
the orlop deck, and all the interior work of that ship. Messrs. 
Gourlade and Moylan did not interfere to prevent this. Mr. 
Lee took much pains to persuade the people they had been 
sailing with me in a privateer, would be detained in Europe 
during the war, and get nothing at last. I found it impossible 
to reason them into good humour, so as to go to sea ; they posi- 
tively declared they would not weigh anchor till they were fully 
paid, and wrote to this effect to Mr. Franklin. I was then 
greatly disgusted with the treatment that, in appearance, I had 
met with from M. de Sartine, but which in reality did not prove 
to be his fault, but that of M. le Ray de Chaumont. But as I 
saw no way of overcoming my difficulties by remaining at 
L'Orient, I with the advice of Mr. Samuel Wharton, and the 
majority of the Americans then assembled at L'Orient, waiting 
to proceed with me to America, went up to court to demand the 
free sale of our prizes, according to the laws of the American 
navy. Mr. Franklin went with me to the minister, who, con- 
trary to my expectation, gave me the most friendly welcome, 
and sent immediate orders to publish the inventories, and ad- 
vertise the sale of all the prizes. This, however, took up more 
time than had been imagined." 

To leave this dull business while we may : Jones became the 
temporary lion of Paris ; and enjoyed what heroes most dearly 
love from the principle of their nature, which makes them such — 



PAUL JONES. 259 

the reality of fame — if the }3hrase may be used without absurd- 
ity. For every age produces as many heroes as Byron enu- 
merates in his misanthropic introduction to an unclean, and 
luckily for morals, an unended extravaganza ; and mankind 
could not remember them all, if they had nothing else to do but to 
repeat the starry and emblazoned roll. And as to the gifted 
vision which foresees its own immortality, few are so poor in 
judgment as not to know that 

" Both bound together live and die, 
The writing and the prophecy." 

But Jones was immediately connected with events, which, 
while we write our annals truly, must identify him honourably 
with the history of the world ; and a man far less susceptible of 
being intoxicated by the cry of the million, and much better 
taught by experience, that the hominum voUtare per ora is, in 
truth, only a volitation, would have seen, without being liable to 
the charge of vulgar vanity, in the honours conferred by the 
court, and the attentions of noblemen and noble ladies, the first 
fruits of an undying reputation. It is quaintly said, in the 
biography published in Edinburgh that, "the reception he per- 
sonally met from many individuals among the higher classes of 
society and the leaders of fashion, when Americans and repub- 
licanism were the mfatiiaiing novelties of the day, must have 
been highly gratifying to his feelings, and to his insatiable love 
of distinction." 

This strangely "infatuating novelty" upset the throne of 
Charlemagne and all his successors. While I write, it 
threatens to hiss off the stage a Bourbon who is experimen- 
tally placed on it ; it has disfranchised a hemisphere, that is, 
left its deliverance to be effected, whenever enlightened opinion 
shall be strong enough ; has partially freed even Ireland ; and 
in the good providence of God, whatever ages of agony and 
bloodshed may first intervene, all mankind will one day learn, that 
the " infatuating novelty" is as true as holy writ, that by proper 
education a people can govern themselves to more advantage. 



260 PAUL JONES. 

than by superstitiously believing in the virtues of a hereditary 
monarchy. Hovt^ever, when hereditary monarchies are esta- 
blished, such im pertinencies as that above quoted, are conve- 
nient and pardonable ; though they cannot be truly said to be 
commendable. 

In Jones' Journal for the king, and other formal narratives 
by himself, which we have followed to preserve chronology, 
there is of course no methodical account of the successive tokens 
of distinction which he received, though the references to them 
in his subsequent letters are frequent. It will be remembered 
that he was in correspondence with some of the principal actors 
of the day, those most in the public eye ; and that, however, 
hard it may be to pay money for services justly rendered, it is 
both easy and agreeable to pay compliments. It was also natu- 
ral that the people of France, who had heard of his exploits, 
should greet him as they did at theatres and in public places. 
The court and the community jointly and severally did him 
homage, and ladies smiled upon him. Except, however, in the 
correspondence of an anonymous fair one, named Delia, to be 
mentioned anon, of which fragments are preserved, there is 
nothing left, in print or manuscript, which is authentic, that is 
injurious to the fair fame of any lady, whose name is indicated 
by its initials or otherwise. If it be painful to destroy romance, 
it is no less necessary to tell the truth ; and though nobody can 
doubt that Commodore Jones was anxiously and courteously 
entertained and caressed by noble and fashionable matrons, all 
that we have any foundation for saying, in relation to the mat- 
ter, is best stated in the brief biographical notice of him in the 
Edinburgh Encyclopoedia: " He spoke several of the European 
languages ; was a lover of music and poetry; played on different 
musical instruments ; and used to write verses for the amuse- 
ment of the Parisian ladies." These remarks would be out of 
place, were it not that so much has been idly written and ima- 
gined in relation to Jones' gallantries. The fact is, though it 
involves a speculation for which we have no time, that his chi- 
valry was of the higher and holier order. He worshipped virtu- 



PAUL JONES. 261 

ous women in the chamber of his imagination, as did the heroes 
and knights of classic and romantic poetry. Of his common 
frailties we know nothing, nor need we draw them from their 
dread abode. However this may be, his correspondence with 
the lady, known as Delia, began about this time, as appears 
from one of her letters. He had far more respectable female 
acquaintances. 

Of his public reception, he says himself, that " he received 
at Paris, and other parts of the kingdom, the most flattering 
applause and public approbation wherever he appeared. Both 
the great and the learned sought his acquaintance in private 
life, and honoured him with particular marks of friendship. At 
court, he was always received with a kindness which could only 
have arisen from a fixed esteem." 

Whatever were his honours or his distractions, during this 
month of May, Jones did not neglect improving the favourable 
terms on which he stood, for the benefit of his adopted country. 
He applied to, and obtained from government, to follow his 
Journal, " a loan of the Ariel of 20 guns, to assist the Alliance 
to transport a large quantity of clothing, &c. to America, then 
ready to be sent for the army under the command qfpGreneral 
Washington. He had already embarked on board the Alliance 
the cannon he had provided for the Bon Homme Richard, but 
which had arrived at L'Orient too late for that ship, besides a 
quantity of muskets and powder. And a cartel having arrived 
with American prisoners from England, had enabled him to 
leave behind near four hundred seamen on board the Alliance. 
So that he could have spared a crew for the Ariel without any 
expense or loss of time. It was his intention to arm the Ariel 
enjlute, and to carry a considerable part of the clothing in the 
Alliance. Finding the sales of the prize protracted much be- 
yond his expectations, he endeavoured, but without success, to 
obtain some advance for his officers and crew, to enable them 
to proceed for A merica ; and the latter end of May, took leave 
of their majesties, the court, and his friends at Paris." The 
king had ordered that the commodore should be presented with 



262 PAUL JONES. 

a gold sword, and that he should, with the permission of Con- 
gress, receive the cross of military merit, a decoration conferred 
previously on those only who had distinguished themselves in 
the proper service of France. A letter from Sartine of the 30th, 
announced these offers ; declared the king's perfect satisfaction 
with the commodore's actions, and disposition to receive him 
again with pleasure, should he be sent on any new expedition 
to Europe. From Franklin also he had an honourable testimo- 
nial of his " bravery and conduct," solicited by himself, though, 
as the ambassador remarked, "his actions were more effectual 
recommendations, and rendered any from him unnecessary." 
According to Mr. Sherburne's dates, the consent of the king to 
allow one of his vessels to accompany the Alliance, was not 
formally given until the 30th of June. This must be an error. 
On the first of that month, Jones received directions from Frank- 
lin to carry into effect the resolution of the admiralty board, 
requiring the return of that vessel, with all due expedition ; and 
on the 4th, W. Franklin enclosed him a copy of a letter from 
M. de Sartine, which stated that the commissary and comman- 
dant at L'Orienthad orders from the minister, to render every 
assistan/^' in their power to facilitate his departure. 

But there was a fatality attending the departures of Jones 
from port ; and it seems as if procrastination, irritation, and 
the tension of patience were ordained to give velocity and ener- 
gy to his career, when he was at last afloat on the free ocean 
en large. That " singularly wild" and disagreeable chevalier 
Landais, had been at L'Orient during Jones' absence, and with 
the help of mischievous prompters and counsellors, aided by the 
discontent which prevailed among the ofHcers on account of not 
receiving prize money or pay, had resolved to retain the com- 
mand of the Alliance. Had not this happened, Jones says, 
" every thing was prepared, and, the Ariel being copper bot- 
tomed, he would have sailed for America a week after his 
return from Paris." 

On the 12th of April previous, the officers of the Alliance had 
addressed Franklin, informing him of their necessitous circum- 



PAUL JONES. 263 

Stances, and that they were alarmed at receiving neither wages 
nor prize money, when the ship was so nearly prepared for sea. 
In his reply of the 7th of June, he told them that, having nothing 
to do with the prizes, he had advanced the 24,000 livres before 
spoken of, for their immediate wants ; and that as to wages, he 
thought they should be expected at home. He told them, that 
in consequence of being frequently informed from L' Orient, 
that the proposed method of valuing the prizes excited discon- 
tent, he had procured a consent that they should be sold at pub- 
lic auction ; which necessarily required time, unless they were 
to be sacrificed. He thought the method first proposed would 
have been most beneficial to them. In answer to their inquiry, 
whether nothing had been received from the prizes sent to Nor- 
way, he told them, that he had sent a memorial to the Danish 
court, with the reply to which he was not satisfied ; that the 
matter was before Congress ; and should any thing be recovered, 
strict justice should be done them. He expressed his surprise 
that, after the complaints he had received from them a year pre- 
vious against Landais, and the statement of the latter at that 
time, that they were all joined together against him, he, who 
had been at Paris merely, as he professed, to vindicate himself 
and obtain an order for his own property on board of the Al- 
liance, should desire to resume the command, and that they 
should again wish to sail under him. He said, "I have related 
exactly to Congress the manner of his leaving the ship, and 
though I declined any judgment of his manoeuvres in the fight, 
I have given it as my opinion, (to Congress,) after examining 
the affair, that it was not at all likely, either that he should have 
given orders to fire into the Bon Homme Richard, or that his 
officers would have obeyed such an order had it been given them. 
Thus I have taken what care I could of your honour in that 
particular. You will, therefore, excuse me if I am a little con- 
cerned for it in another. If it should come to be publicly known 
that you had the strongest aversion to Captain Landais, who 
had used you basely, and that it is only since the last year's 
cruise, and the appointment of Commodore Jones to the com- 



264 PAUL JONES. 

mand, that you request to be again under your old captain, 1 
fear suspicions and reflections may be thrown upon you by the 
world, as if this change of sentiment may have arisen from your 
observation during the cruise, that Captain Jones loved close 
fighting, that Captain Landais was skilful in keeping out of 
harm's way, and that you therefore thought )'^ourselves safer with 
the latter. For myself, I believe you to be brave men, and 
lovers of your country and its glorious cause ; and I am per- 
suaded you have only been ill advised, and misled by the artful 
and malicious misrepresentations of some persons I guess at. 
Take in good part this friendly counsel from an old man who is 
your friend. Go home peaceably with your ship. Do your 
duty faithfully and cheerfi?ily. Behave respectfully to your 
commander, and I am persuaded he will do the same to you. 
Thus you will not only be happier in your voyage, but recom- 
mend yourselves to the future favours of Congress and of your 
country." 

On the same day, he wrote peremptorily to Landais, express- 
ing his astonishment that the latter should be at L'Orient, 
when he had thought him long before on his voyage to Ame- 
rica for trial ; to enable him to do which, he had been furnished 
with a considerable sum of money.* Landais had coolly writ- 
ten on the 29th May, that " he had been waiting for Franklin's 
orders ever since, to retake the command of the Alliance!" 
The minister said : " I waive any further dispute with you ; 
but I charge you not to meddle with the command, or create 
any disturbance on board her, as you will answer the contrary 
at your peril." But Landais had got a7i opinion from Mr. Ar- 
thur Lee, who had a taste for " constitutional construction," 
that he might treat the minister's orders with silent contempt, 
or, in the slang of the present day, nullify them. The majo- 
rity of the officers and crew had also been too well deluded 



* Landais had actually made a written application to Captain Bell for a passage in 
the merchant ship Luzerne, that he might return quickly to America for trial. — Jour- 
nal for the King. 



PAUL JONES. 265 

during the absence of their commander, by representations 
that he was neglecting or compounding their rights at court, 
while he was enjoying all the honours of their victory. Jones 
said, himself, at the time : " I have been to blame for having 
returned to Paris, without having absolutely insisted on the 
previous payment of my men." He would have insisted to no 
purpose. The change in the mode of assessing the value of 
the prizes, left the court not responsible immediately ; and M. 
Chaumont was unable to pay in anticipation of their sale. 

The sailors became peremptory in their demands. On the 
12th June, we find Franklin writing to Jones : " Saturday 
morning I received a letter signed by about 115 of the sailors 
of the Alliance, declaring that they would not raise the anchor, 
nor depart from L' Orient, till they had six months' wages paid 
them, and the utmost farthing of the prize money, including 
the ships sent into Norway, and until their legal captain, P. Lan- 
dais, was restored to them. This mutiny has undoubtedly been 
excited by that captain ; probably by making them believe that 
satisfaction has been received for those Norway prizes delivered 
up to the English. * * * * That he is concerned in this 
mutiny he has been foolish enough to furnish us with proofs ; 
the sailors' letter being not only enclosed under a cover directed 
to me in his handwriting, but he also, in the same writing, 
interlined the words, their legal captain, P. Landais, which 
happens to contain his signature. I immediately went to Ver- 
sailles to demand the assistance of government, and on show- 
ing the letter, by which his guilt plainly appeared, an order was 
immediately granted, and sent away the same evening, for appre- 
hending and imprisoning him, and orders were promised to be 
given at the same time to the commissary of the port to afford 
you all kind of assistance to facilitate your departure. M. Chau- 
mont being with me, and assisting warmly in obtaining these 
orders. We thought it best at the same time, to give directions 
that those sailors who have signed this letter should not be 
favoured with receiving any part of the money ordered to be 
advanced, in part of what it is supposed the Serapis and Coun- 

33 



266 PAUL JONES. 

tess may be sold for, unless such as express their sorrow for 
having been so misled, and willingness to do their duty. And 
that they may be known, their title was sent down to M. de 
Marplanir. But care should be taken that it be returned, as it 
contains the proofs above mentioned against Landais, who will 
probably be tried for his life ; being considered by the minister 
as an emigrant without the king's permission, and therefore 
still a Frenchman, and when in France, still subject to its laws." 

All of this letter ought to be inserted, did space permit. We 
can only add that Franklin recommended, in case difficulties 
should arise to prevent the produce of the sales being known, 
and part advanced, before Jones was ready to sail with the Ariel 
in company, those who would not trust to their country for jus- 
tice should be put on shore, and left to wait at their own expense. 
He concluded : " You are likely to have great trouble. I wish 
you well through it. You have shown your abilities in fight- 
ing ; you have now an opportunity of showing the other neces- 
sary % part in the character of a great chief — your abilities in 
policy." 

Up to this period, whatever might have been done in secret 
cabal, no open disrespect had been shown to Jones. He 
states* that he had been on board of the Alliance for a consi- 
derable part of the time after hi%return from Versailles, and 
" had always been well received and duly obeyed." But finding 
that " his commission and authority had been called in ques 
tion," he ordered the former as well as Franklin's orders to be 
read on board, on the morning of the 12th June, for the satis- 
faction of all present. What amounted to a mutiny occurred 
in consequence. The fact is, there can be no doubt, that while 
bent on doing his duty, Jones had not had his imagination free 
from the effects of the public honours he had received at Paris ; 
and that it was not in his nature to pry into the views and 
schemes of those whom circumstances made his inferiors. His 



* In a letter to Franklin of June 13lb, the day after the mutiny. 



PAUL JONES. 267 

thoughts or dreams, if that be the better phrase, about his own 
renown, did not interfere with his strenuous efforts to sustain 
and increase it, but on the contrary concentrated those efforts. 
A man of more common mind might have sought after and 
eagerly hstcned to reports of what was going on in the kitchen, 
and counteracted vulgar intrigue by conciliation. However 
this may be, he was mistaken as to the influence which was 
predominant on board. On the morning of the 13th of June, 
he went on shore to make arrangements with the commandant 
for despatching the Ariel, and Landais went on board, declaring 
that he came to take command of the ship, and would support 
himself by force against any person who should dispute his au- 
thority. He had written to Lieutenant Degge, as lieutenant in 
command on board the frigate Alliance, ordering him to keep 
the command of the frigate from any one who should seek to 
take it, contrary to the resolve of Congress, and to his prejudice, 
until he should receive an answer from his excellency Dr. 
Franklin, on the reception of which he would take the com- 
mand. He added : " I expect Dr. Franklin can't deny it to me, 
unless he has an order to the contrary from Congress." This 
letter had been dictated by some of the " meddling passengers," 
and was read to the crew by Lieutenant Degge. 

Finding that Landais had taken possession, by the advice of 
the commandant of the marine and commandant of the road, 
Jones wrote to Franklin by express, on the afternoon of the day 
on which what may be called the mutiny occurred. He said : 
" Several of the brave officers w^ho served with me in the Bon 
Homme Richard, have already been treated with indignity on 
board ; and my first lieutenant, Mr. Dale, this moment tells me, 
that he and some others have been turned ashorQ. Before I 
came ashore this forenoon, the crew being assembled, I de- 
manded whether any of them could say a word to my disad- 
vantage ? They answered, they could not. There was then 
every appearance of general contentment and subordination. 
I am certain that the people love and would readily obey me." 
He was obeying Franklin's last verbal instructions, to act in con- 



268 PAUL JONES. 

cert with the commandants above mentioned. He was nearly 
ready to sail with both vessels, with the arras and clothing pro- 
perly bestowed ; and there is not much doubt that the crews 
would readily have sailed with him, had the malign influence 
been removed, which so balefully governed them. Let us hear 
a screed of doctrine about constitutional construction and nulli- 
fication, delivered in anticipation, and which will hold water 
rather better than others we have had, since we have had a con- 
stitution. The special pleading is good; and must have 
refreshed the souls of the ragged mutineers particularly. Mr. 
Arthur Lee thus wrote to Jones, on the 13th. 

•' Sir, 

"When you showed me yesterday, the authorities under which 
you conceive you had a right to command the Alliance frigate, 
I told you it was not in my power to give you an opinion upon 
them without seeing those of Captain Landais ; and that I 
would not give an opinion in this matter, but in writing. Since 
that I have seen the authorities of Captain Landais, and I now 
shall state them both, with my opinion upon them ; which I 
hope may be of use in preventing any further contest, which 
cannot but be disgraceful and injurious to the service, as well 
as to those who are in the wrong. 

" The authorities you showed me, consisted of a commission 
from Congress, appointing you a captain in the marine of the 
United States, and a late order from Dr. Franklin to you to 
take command of the Alliance, and carry her where she is 
ordered by the admiralty. This order from Dr. Franklin does 
not recite or allege any power from Congress to take the com- 
mand from Captain Landais, and put another in his place. 

" The authorities Captain Landais laid before me, were a 
commission from Congress, like yours, appointing him captain 
in the service ; a resolve of Congress giving him the command 
of the Alliance frigate ; and a letter of instructions for that 
purpose from the marine committee. 

" From these documents it is clear, beyond a possibility of 



PAUL JONES. 269 

doubt, that Captain Landais commands that ship under the full, 
direct, and express order of Congress ; and that no such autho- 
rity appears to dismiss him from the command. In this situa- 
tion, Captain Landais must answer at his peril for the frigate 
entrusted to him till he receives an order of Congress to deliver 
her to another. If any such order exists, those who have it do 
infinite wrong to the service in not producing it, to prevent any 
disturbance. If there is no such order, the subjects of the 
United States who attempt to divest Captain Landais of the 
command he holds from the sovereign power, or to disturb him 
by violence in the exercise of it, commit a high crime against 
the laws and sovereignty of the United States and subject them- 
selves to a proportionable punishment. 

*' This, sir, is my opinion, founded upon a cool and candid 
consideration of the authorities on both sides ; which alone 
ought to determine our judgment and our actions. You are at 
liberty to show this letter to whom you please, or to send it to 
Dr. Franklin. Should it prevail upon you to urge this matter 
no farther till you know whether there is authority of Congress 
for what you are doing, I shall think I have rendered no less 
service to you personally, in preventing you from committing a 
rash and illegal action, than to the public, the honour of which 
must be committed by such a contest in a foreign port. When 
I see such things threatened, my duty to my country, and the 
love of law and order, call upon- me to do whatever is in my 
power to prevent them. 

" I have the honour to be, &c. 

This valuable opinion of Mr. Lee did not come into Jones' 
hands until a week after his date. The latter, in his letter to 
the commandant of the port, called on him for support, as he 
had not sufficient force to assert his own rights, and did not 
wish to have a seem with Landais. The letter was probably 
more for form's sake than otherwise ; for an open affray would 
have been discreditable to the American flag, and injurious to 
the character of the nation. Jones went incognito, as he says 



270 PAUL JONES. 

in his journal, to Versailles, " to explain what had happened," 
and returned with all possible expedition. On the 16th, we find 
Franklin very briefly and peremptorily writing to Landais and 
to the ofiicers of the Alliance, commanding obedience to his 
former and present orders. On the 17th, he wrote to Jones, who 
was then on his way to court, that " having been informed by 
several gentleman, of and from L'Orient, that it was there 
generally understood, that the mutiny on board his ship had 
been advised or promoted by the Honourable Arthur Lee, 
whom he had ordered Jones to receive as a passenger, he 
thereby withdrew that order so far as to leave it to Jones' 
discretion." He added, that this need not obstruct Mr. Lee's 
return to America, as there were several ships going under 
Jones' convoy, and many of the passengers might prefer chang- 
ing places. Cotemporaneously, for I do not find the dates, 
fourteen of the officers of the Alliance addressed Franklin, re- 
presenting that they believed the ship's crew were unanimously 
in favour of Captain Landais, and that they believed him a 
capable officer, whose conduct in the engagement oflf Scar- 
borough had been misrepresented ; and that they thought them- 
selves bound to obey him, according to the rules and regulations 
of the navy. The wise opinion of Mr. Lee and those deluded 
men, is best exposed by the questions put at the time by Dr. 
Franklin to Mr. Adams, which involve their own inevitable 
answers. They were, in brief, whether Landais, accused of 
capital crimes by his commanding officer, after having relin- 
quished command of the frigate, asked leave to withdraw his 
effects, solicited and received money from the minister to bear 
his expenses to America, where he was to be tried, and applied 
for a passage in a private ship, was entitled at his pleasure to 



PAUL JONES. 271 

retake command of the frigate, contrary to the express orders 
of the same minister, which he was instructed to obey ; " and to 
dispossess his successor, the oldest naval officer of the United 
States in Europe, who had commanded that frigate near eight 
months, and brought to the port where she then was ?" The 
other questions, equally irresistible, related to the propriety of 
the conduct of Landais, and the policy of suffering him to retain 
the command. 

Landais, however, and his constitutional advisers, got off, by 
a forbearance on the part of Jones, dictated by wise and pruden- 
tial considerations, at a moment when indignation might have 
thrown the reins loose vsathout reproach. Orders from govern- 
ment were sent to L'Orient, to arrest Landais as a French 
subject, (and he might have been most unconstitutionally pro- 
vided for,) and to stop the Alliance. Jones' letter written after 
his return from Versailles, best explains the intermediate trans- 
actions, and the motives of his conduct. 

" U Orient, June 21, 1780. 

« Sir, 

" I was detained at Versailles forty hours from the time of 
my arrival, and was then informed by M. de Genet, that an ex- 
press had been sent from court with the necessary orders to the 
king's officers at L'Orient, respecting Captain Landais and the 
Alliance. I found myself here early yesterday morning, fifty- 
four hours after leaving Versailles. The Alliance had, the 
evening and night before, been warped and towed from the 
road of L'Orient to Port Louis ; and no express from court had 
arrived here. M. de Thevenard, the commandant, however, 
made every necessary preparation to stop the Alliance, as ap- 
pears by the enclosed document on the subject. He had even 
sent orders in the evening, before I was aware, to fire oh the 
Alliance, and sink her to the bottom, if they attempted to ap- 
proach and pass the barrier that had been made across the 
entrance of the port. Had I even remained silent an hour 
longer, the dreadful work would have been done. Your 



272 PAUL JONES. 

humanity will, I linow, justify the part I acted in preventing a 
scene that would have rendered me miserable for the rest of 
my life. The Alliance has this morning been towed and 
warped through the rocks, and is now at anchor without, be- 
tween Port Louis and Groix. In this situation I at noon sent 
out Lieutenant Dale with a letter to Captain Landais, whereof 
the within is a copy. 

" Yesterday morning the within letter was brought me from 
Mr. Lee, though I had never even hinted that his opinion or 
advice would be acceptable. He has, however, pulled off the 
mask, and I am convinced, is not a little disappointed that his 
operations have produced no bloodshed between the subjects of 
France and America. Poor man ! 

" Yesterday every thing that persuasion or threatening could 
effect was attempted. [He mentions a conciliatory letter sent 
to Captain Parke, of the marines, to which no answer was ever 
received.] 

" M. de Thevenard, On his part, sent the deputy of M. Sweig- 
hauser on board with your letters, under his own cover, to Cap- 
tain Landais, and to the officers and men of the Alliance. The 
one was delivered to Captain Landais, the other to Lieutenant 
Digges. M. de Thevenard also sent on board an officer with 
the king's order to arrest Captain Landais, who refused to sur- 
render himself. Mr. Lee and his party pretend to justify their 
measures, because they say you did not put Captain Landais 
under arrest. According to them, you cannot displace him, 
however great his crimes ! If the government does not interfere 
to crush this despicable party, France and America have much 
to fear from it. I verily believe them to be English at the bot- 
tom of their hearts.* 

" N. B. Mr. Dale has this moment brought me, the within 
impertinent note from Captain Landais." » 



* In a marginal note, affixed to this letter, many years afterwards, Jones says, " In 
this opinion I was not singular, though perhaps I was mistaken." 



PAUL JONES. 273 

The letter to Landais, referred to in the foregoing, was a de- 
mand of the seamen who had served on board the Bon Homme 
Richard, requesting that they might be dehvered on board the 
boats sent by the commandant and commissary of the marine, 
with the baggage, stores, and barge of Jones. The imperti- 
nent reply I do not find. 

Except under the immediate influence of the instinct, which 
teaches us to avoid sudden danger or death, and not always 
then, there is no such thing as singleness of motive in our na- 
ture. It is not untrue, that the best men may find something in 
the misfortunes of their best friends, to console them partially for 
the event. Jones would have taken command of the Alliance, 
and set sail with her at all hazards, if a disgraceful scene could 
have been avoided ; or if he could have enforced obedience on 
board. As it was, we find him very coolly and persuasively 
urging upon Franklin by the next post, (June 23d,) the advan- 
tage which would result from asking government for a loan of 
the Serapis. He had learned that this ship had been sold for 
240,000 livres. Five or six hundred tons weight of public stores 
were to be transported to America ; and after filling up the 
Ariel, four hundred would remain. M. Chaumont, (owing to 
the concordat,) had altogether miscalculated, and was unac- 
quainted with marine afifairs. The Serapis would be masted 
and fitted in a very short time ; and no suitable merchant ship 
could be had at any of the ports. He proposed, therefore, to 
arm her, en flute, and the Ariel for war. Three hundred men 
would be sufficient for both ships, whom he thought there would 
be no difiiculty in obtaining from those on shore, on board of the 
Alliance, and volunteer soldiers, waiting at their own expense, 
to serve again under his command. On arriving in America, 
the Serapis might be fully armed, and, with the Ariel and other 
continental ships, execute one of the projects he had submitted 
to government. 

Will it be wondered at, that the conqueror of the Serapis, 
who had, as it may be said, allowed that fine ship to be taken 
from under him, to preserve the credit of the flag to which she 

34 



274 PAUL JONES. 

Struck, and who now saw her near him, liable to pass into un- 
lineal hands, while many of the brave crew who had captured 
her, were also on the spot, anxious to serve under him a^ain, 
should cast a longing, lingering, look upon her ? Or is it sur- 
prising, that his heart was not broken, because the crazy Lan- 
dais had usurped command of a discontented crew, misled 
and prejudiced as they were, and encouraged to open revolt 
by a semi-official, pragmatical foe of Franklin, and expounder 
of unasked for "opinions?" The reader will think not; and 
when he considers that Jones was panting always for action, 
will not marvel that lie did not over-much regret the expediency 
of resigning such a charge as that of conducting the Alliance 
home. 

Landais, among his other "light amusements," had had the 
solemn impudence to write several letters, demanding payment 
of the prize money due to the people of the Alliance, and com- 
plained, on the 16th, " that time was lost by the delay." In 
the letter Franklin condescended to write to him on the 24th, 
he informed him that his two first prizes were Swedish ships, 
for the illegal capture of which heavy damages were demanded; 
that another was a brigantine from Ireland, under the king's 
passport, which he apprehended had been, or would be, adjudged 
not a good prize ; that nothing had been received for the prizes 
sent into Norway ; and that, as the Serapis and Countess of 
Scarborough had not been sold at the date of his last letter, 
none of the produce of such sale could be in his hands, or in the 
hands of any body. He told him, he was aware that his letters 
were written with the view of their being read in America ; and 
we may guess who dictated them. 

The former officers of the Bon Homme Richard, at the same 
time, (June 26th,) solemnly besought Franklin not to entertain 
the idea, that the Americans at L'Orient approved of the be- 
haviour of Landais and his advisers ; and stated, that beside 
the risk of ruining the measures adopted for the transportation 
of clothing, &c. merchandise to the amount of two millions of 
livres, which was to have been despatched under convoy, was 



PAUL JOJCES. 275 

put in peril by the usurpation of Landais. They paid a most 
exalted tribute to Jones, in expressing the confidence they would 
have felt, had he commanded according to the regular instruc- 
tions of the minister. 

On the 27th, Franklin wrote to Jones, in reply to his letter 
of the 23d, suggesting that a loan of the Serapis might be asked 
for. He had not received that of the 21st, giving an account 
of the particular circumstances under which the Alliance left 
port. *' I only knew," he said, " by other means, that the Al- 
liance is gone out of the port ; and that you are not likely to reco- 
ver, and have relinquished the command of her. So that affair 
is over ; and the business is now, to get the goods out as well as 
we can. I am perfectly bewildered with the different schemes 
that have been proposed to me for this purpose, by Mr. Williams, 
Mr. Ross, yourself, and M. de Chaumont. Mr. Williams was for 
purchasing ships ; I told him I had not the money, but he still urges 
it. You and Mr. Ross proposed borrowing the Ariel ; I joined in 
the application for that ship. We obtained her. She was to con- 
vey all that the Alliance could not take. Now you find her insuf- 
ficient. An additional ship has already been asked, and could not 
be obtained. I think, therefore, it will be best that you take as 
much into the Ariel as you can, and depart with it. For the 
rest I must apply to the government to contrive some means of 
transporting it in their own ships. This is my present opinion ; 
and when I have once got rid of this business, no consideration 
shall tempt me to meddle again with such matters, as I never 
understood them." 

Thus, treating the " affair as over," the minister wrote to the 
commanding officer, for the time being, of the Alliance, to take 
on board such munitions of war, as were ready to be delivered, 
and to deliver them at Philade]j)hia to the board of admiralty. 
The course we have taken requires here the insertion entire of 
Jones' letter to the Hon. Robert Morris, of the same date, in- 
volving a little repetition, but throwing much light on the sub- 
jects in question, and withal characteristic of the writer, and 
worthy of him. 



276 PAUL JONES. 

" L' Orient, June 27, 1780. . 
" Honoured and Dear Sir, - 

" I have deferred writing to you since my return to this 
kingdom, because I had orders myself to return in the AUiance 
immediately to Philadelphia. I was under a necessity of going 
to court in April, to procure the free sale of the Serapis and our 
other prizes, and was received by the royal family, government, 
and people, with that open-armed affection that so nobly marks 
the character of this generous-minded nation. His majesty 
ordered a superb sword to be made for me, with an inscription 
in Latin on the blade, that would do honour to the greatest 
admiral in history. The king directed his minister to write a 
special letter to the president of Congress, expressing, in the 
strongest terms, his personal esteem towards me, with his entire 
approbation of my conduct, particular desire to promote my 
future success, and to see me again at his court, &c. To this 
his majesty was pleased to add a letter to his minister M. le 
Chevalier de Luzerne, directing him to ask permission of Con- 
gress, to invest me with the order of military merit j an honour 
that was never before offered to a stranger who had not actually 
served either in the army or navy of France. I returned here, 
being charged with the despatches of government, and having 
obtained the king's ship Ariel to assist, with the Alliance, in 
transporting to America the supply of arms and clothing that is 
now here, and so much wanted in our armies. The Luzerne 
and several other merchant vessels with cargoes, amounting to 
2,000,000 livres, were waiting for my convoy. But to the 
astonishment of every person, on the 13th of this month. Cap- 
tain Landais went on board the Alliance, while I was on shore 
with the commandant of the marine, to take measures for the 
despatch of the Ariel, and declared he came to take the com 
mand. I made an immediate application to the commandant, 
not choosing to have any particular dispute with Captain Lan- 
dais, after the charges I had given in against him, and for 
which, with the approbation of this government. Dr. Franklin 
had displaced him seven months before, and given him money 



PAUL JONES. 277 

to bear his expenses to America for trial. I was advised to 
send an express with the account immediately to court. I 
went up myself, and returned in six days. I found the Alliance 
at the entrance of Port Louis, and every necessary disposition 
was made to stop her from going out, agreeable to the within 
document ; but my humanity would not suffer me to remain a 
silent witness of bloodshed between the allied subjects of France 
and America. My having prevented that scene of horror, has 
been, I am persuaded, no small disappointment to the wicked 
hearts and empty heads of Captain Landais' two principal ad- 
visers ; such a scene would have been an excellent ground of 
argument for the tools of England against France. One of 
these two would-be great men will now have his carriage, bag- 
gage, and family, transported from hence in the space on board 
the Alliance, that should have been occupied by the soldiers' 
clothing ; while the red ribboned commodore has taken ad- 
vantage of the confusion, and inveigled away from the conti- 
nental service a number of seamen, that I had redeemed from 
English dungeons, and fed for three months on board the Al- 
liance, in order to man the Ariel. The brave men who so 
gloriously served with me in the Bon Homme Richard, are now 
confined as prisoners in the hold of the Alliance, and treated 
with every mark of indignity. I had destined them to complete 
a crew for the Ariel, and have demanded them in vain for that 
purpose. 

" I cannot see where all this will end ; but surely it must fall 
dreadfully on the heads of those who have stirred up this cause- 
less mutiny. For my own part, I shall make no other remark 
than that I never directly nor indirectly sought after the com- 
mand of the Alliance ; but after having in obedience to orders 
commanded her for seven months, and after Mr. Lee had made 
a written application to me as commander of that ship, for a 
passage to America, I am at a loss what name to give Mr. 
Lee's late conduct and duplicity, in stirring up a mutiny in 
favour of a man who was at first sent to America contrary to 
Mr. Lee's opinion, by Mr. Dean, and who is actually under 



278 PAUL JONES. 

arrest, by order of his sovereign. What gives me the greatest 
pain is, that after I had obtained from government the means 
of transporting to America, under a good protection, the arms 
and clothing I have already mentioned, Mr. Lee should have 
found means to defeat my intentions. I thank God I am of no 
party, and have no brothers or relations to serve ; but 1 am 
convinced that Mr. Lee has acted in this matter merely because 
I would not become the enemy of the venerable, the wise, and 
good Franklin, whose heart, as well as head, does, and will 
always, do honour to human nature. 

" I know the great and good in this kingdom better, perhaps, 
than any other American who has appeared in Europe since 
the treaty of alliance ; and if my testimony could add any thing 
to Franklin's reputation, I could witness the universal veneration 
and esteem with which his name inspires all ranks, not only at 
Versailles and all over this kingdom, but also in Spain and 
Holland. And I can add from the testimony of the first 
characters of other nations, that with them envy itself is dumb 
when the name of Franklin is but mentioned. 

" You will bear me witness, my Avorthy friend, that I never 
asked a favour for myself from Congress ; for you have seen 
all my letters, and know that I never sought any indirect in- 
fluence, though my ambition to act an eminent and useful part 
in this glorious revolution is unbounded. I pledge myself to 
you, and to America, that my zeal receives new ardour from 
the opposition it meets with, and I live but to overcome them, 
and to prove myself no mock patriot, but a true friend to the 
rights of human nature upon principles of disinterested philan- 
thropy. Of this I have already given some proofs, and I will 
give more ; let not, therefore, the virtuous senate of Ame- 
rica be misled by the insinuations of fallen ambition. Should 
any thing be said to my disadvantage, all I ask is a suspension 
of judgment until I can appear before Congress to answer for 
myself. 

" I repeat, that I am determined to steer clear of party, and 
to keep within my line of duty as an officer. Deeply sensible 



PAUL JONES. 279 

of the obligations I owe to your friendship, and ardently wish- 
ing to merit the affection of every good American. 

" I am, dear sir, with the highest esteem and respect, 

" Your most obliged, 
" And very humble servant, 

"Jno. p. Jones." 
N. B. I will do my utmost to return immediately to Ame- 
rica. I return you my best thanks for your letter of the 4th 
November. 

The following official letter, which M. de Sartine addressed 
to Jones on the 28th, needs insertion, because it was official, 
and was despatched at the right moment, being well calculated 
to remove whatever feelings of mortification Jones might have 
been supposed to labour with. 

" Versailles, June 28, 1780. 
" Sir, 

" The king, sir, has already made known his satisfaction 
with the zeal and valour, which you have displayed in Europe, 
in support of the common cause of the United States of Ame- 
rica, and his majesty, and he has also informed you of the dis- 
tinguished proofs he is disposed to give you thereof. Persuaded 
that the United States will give their consent that you should 
receive the cross of the order of military merit, I send you in 
the accompanying packet addressed to M. de la Luzerne, the 
one designed for you. You will be pleased to deliver him this 
packet, and he will see that the honour is conferred by a knight 
of the order, agreeably to his majesty's orders. But at any rate, 
that you should have a proof of the king's approbation and mu- 
nificence, his majesty has ordered a gold sword to be made for 
you, which will be sent to you forthwith, and he has the great- 
est confidence in the use you will make of it for his glory and 
that of the United States. " I have the honour to be, &c. 

" To M. Paul Jones, 
Commodore of the U. S. Navy, at L' Orient." 



280 PAUL JONES. 

The gold sword has been spoken of before in this text, but 
probably this was the first time Jones had heard of it ; and it 
would not have quickened his desire to depart. He loved not 
baubles, but he dearly loved what they meant and passed for 
in France. 

On the 28th, Jones tried the effect of another imperative let- 
ter to Captain Landais, with directing him not to sail or put to 
sea, before receiving instructions from himself, the " senior and 
superior officer of the navy of the United States in Europe," 
and to send eighty of the best riggers, with all the joiners forth- 
with, from the Alliance, to rig and prepare the Ariel. Lieut. 
M. Livingston undertook to deliver this letter. To this request 
Landais replied, addressing the commodore simply as, " John 
Paul Jones, Esq. at L'Orient — I send the under named people 
on shore, being such as I do not find necessary for the service 
of the United States of America on board this ship ; if you have 
any authority for taking them, you will do it." The names of 
twenty-two persons are added, of five of whom Landais re- 
marks, "these are prisoners of yours." On the 29th, Jones 
wrote to him, "the boat returns for the remainder of the men, 
mentioned in my order of yesterday." The following N. B. is 
added ; "Captain Landais ordered the bearer of this letter to 
remain in the boat alongside the Alliance, and hold this open, 
with the writing towards him." Having seen it, he ordered the 
boat to be gone. 

The Alliance then sailed. Jones says in his Journal, that 
when he begged the barrier of the port might be removed, 
the commandant called the principal officers together, who sign- 
ed a paper, " stating the preparations which had been made, 
and expressing their admiration of the conduct of Captain 
Jones." All his papers and trunks sent ashore were found bro- 
ken open, and the best part of his effects were detained, or de- 
stroyed on board the Alliance. The people who adhered to him 
in that ship, and refused to weigh anchor, were confined and 
carried away in irons. He was left without a crew for the Ariel, 
and was unable to embark the clothing. 



PAUL JONES. 281 

In the middle of the following month, we find the commodore 
thus writing to a lady, whose name is not mentioned. 

" Madam, 

*' When one is conscious of having been in fault, I believe it 
is the best way to confess it, and to promise amendment. This 
being my case with respect to you, madam, I am too honest to 
attempt to excuse myself ; and, therefore, cast myself at your 
feet and beg your forgiveness, on condition that I behave 
better hereafter. For shame, Paul Jones ! how could you let 
the fairest lady in the world, after writing you two letters, wait 
so long for an answer ! Are you so much devoted to war, as to 
neglect wit and beauty ? I make myself a thousand such re- 
proaches, and believe I punish myself as severely as you would 
do, madam, were you present here. 

" The truth is, I have been willing that the extraordinary events 
that have taken place here with respect to the frigate Alliance, 
should be communicated to you rather by others, than by my- 
self ; for though, God knows, I have not been to blame for these 
events, yet I have felt rather ashamed that they should have 
happened J the more so as the cause has been rather of a delicate 
nature. I will mention it, however, to you." He then states, 
that M. de Chaumont had, up to that moment, unjustly retained 
from the crew every sol of their wages and shares of prizes, 
and that certain persons had persuaded them that he himself 
concurred in such measures. 

On the 24th, he wrote to Madame Tellison. What would be 
repetition is omitted. 

" Madam, 

" When you did me the honour to ask my promise to write 
to you a particular account of my services in this revolution and 
of my late expedition, I thought myself very happy, indeed, in 
enjoying that pleasing proof of your attention ; and it was my 
firni intention to have fulfilled my promise with you on that 

35 



282 PAUL JONES. 

head, immediately after my return here. Had I undertaken to 
write my own history to a lady of a less elevated mind than 

Madam T , I should have run too great a risk, especially 

in what relates to my last battle ; many circumstances of which 
are not yet known to the world, and are of such a nature as not 
to be believed by an ordinary mind, upon the evidence of an in- 
dividual. With you, madam, I have not the remotest doubt, 
and the extraordinary event that took place here, with respect 
to the Alliance, is the only reason that has withheld my pen. I 
confess to you, I feel rather ashamed that such an event should 
have happened ; although, God knows, it was not owing to any 
fault of mine. * * * * I had disapproved the conduct of M. le 
Ray de Chaumont so much as neither to speak nor write to him 
after my return to France. My sole business at court was to 
obtain the free sale of the prizes, which I effected. * * * * I 
know that soon after my arrival in America, Congress will ren- 
der me impartial justice. I will then have the happiness to 
furnish you with the account I promised, and the circumstances 
will be supported by the fullest evidence. I dare promise that 
it will then appear that I have only been to blame for havmg 
returned here from Paris, without having insisted absolutely on 
the previous payment of my men. Money is essential in war : in 
love, you will tell me, perhaps, the case may be otherwise. I 
have still in contemplation to return to France soon after I 
arrive in America, for I have the most ardent desire to give the 
court, the nation, and my friends, farther proofs of my gratitude, 
by my services in the glorious cause of freedom that France has 
so nobly espoused in concert with America." 

On the 28th, he wrote to the Marquise de la Fayette : " I am 
once more nearly ready for sea. If I can in any respect render 
you acceptable services, you know I have so much esteem and 
respect for yourself, and so much affectionate friendship for 
your husband, that you will, 1 hope, command me freely. I 
expect to embrace the marquis about the first of October ; and 
it is not impossible, that we may return together to France. 
Believe me, I am, with great sincerity and regard, &c." 



PAUL JONES. 283 

These letters to three ladies, are the only letters found writ- 
ten by Jones in the month of July, which are before the com- 
piler. He was soon, however, busily engaged in writing to the 
French ministers, and those who had access to, or influence with 
them. Jones laid his projects before them again ; and again 
strenuously and not indecorously applied for employment in 
what his soul most sighed after, an expedition after his own 
heart ; in which he should have no concordat to control him, 
no sage peers to neutralise his purposes. He could not expect 
any such command from Congress, even on the most modest 
scale. He endeavoured to avail himself of his reputation, and 
the influence it might create for him, in every direction, to ob- 
tain such a force as might enable him hopefully to attempt some 
one of those schemes, with which his ardent ambition was teem- 
ing; which, if it did not " strike a blow that should resound 
through the universe," would sensibly affect the nerves of the 
imaginary ocean queen ; and teach her, that if she had rebels, 
pirates, and privateers to deal with, they were of no common 
sort. 

If circumstances did not permit him to sail with the Ariel at 
this precise time, (and they were beyond his control,) we cannot 
suppose that he found them altogether painful. That " he 
often took leave, yet was loath to depart," may be true ; but it 
was not his fault that the departure did not take place. 

We cannot omit his letter to the Count of Vergennes, dated 
the 2d August. 

" My Lord, 

" I should be unworthy of the illustrious marks that I have 
lately received of the royal favour, if I were not constantly im- 
pressed with the most ardent zeal to merit the continuance of 
his majesty's approbation, by an invariable attention to the 
mutual interests of France and America. Although my de- 
parture for America has been protracted by unforseen events, 
it is not yet too late for government to pray the Congress that I 
may, during the remainder of this war,'be constantly employed 



284 PAUL JONES. 

on active and useful services, tending to distract and distress 
the common enemy. After having been so highly honoured by 
the kind attentions of the king's ministers, and their approba- 
tion of my poor services, I am convinced that I shall still find 
such support and protection from this government, as may 
enable me to prove my gratitude by my future actions. 

" Since I had the honour of laying before your excellency, in 
the month of May last, my project for future expeditions, the 
events of the war have not so altered circumstances as to render 
my ideas inexpedient ; on the contrary, the farther the war ad- 
vances, I am the more confirmed in the utility that would result 
to the common cause from such services as I have therein 
hinted at. I was then happy in finding that your excellency 
approved of my ideas ; it is therefore that I now enclose a copy, 
which I beseech your excellency to reconsider and lay before 
bis majesty's privy council. If such expeditions as I wish to 
command were to be fitted out iti America, I might be able with 
the greater certainty to strike the first blow by a complete sur- 
prise. Before the fleet of his majesty sailed from Brest the 
first time, under Count D'Orvilliers, M. de Chaumont told me 
it was the desire of government to have my ideas on private 
expeditions in writing. I gave him with great pleasure many 
ideas, from my long knowledge of the enemy's trade and situa- 
tion, that might have proved of great advantage to our cause, 
and I wish M. de Chaumont had given all my then ideas to the 
. court, although I am told he has taken credit for some of them 
as his own. I am now nearly ready for sea with his majesty's 
sloop of war the Ariel, and I should be happy to carry with me 
to Congress the interest of this government for my promotion ; 
but especially that I may be henceforth constantly employed in 
the most active and enterprising services, with such a force 
under my command as may enable me eff*ectually to promote 
the interest of our glorious cause. This, my lord, would be my 
supreme ambition, actuated by no mean views of self interest, 
but inspired by the purest principles of gratitude and philan- 
thropy. It is upon this ground alone that I depend on the 



PAUL JONES. 285 

constant protection of the king, your excellency, and this 
government. 

" It is absolutely necessary, my lord, to destroy the foreign 
commerce of the English, especially their trade to the Baltic, 
from whence they draw all the supplies for their marine. It is 
equally necessary to alarm their coasts, not only in the colonies 
abroad, but even in their islands at home. These things would 
distress and distract the enemy much more than many battles 
between fleets of equal force. England has carried on the war 
against America in a far more barbarous form than she durst 
have adopted against any power of Europe. America has a 
right to retaliate ; and by our having the same language and 
customs with the enemy, we are in a situation to surprise their 
coast and take such advantage of their unguarded situation, 
under the flag of America, as can never be done under the flag 
of France. This is not theory, for I have proved it by my expe- 
rience ; and if I have opportunity I will yet prove it more 
fully. 

" I shall be happy, my lord, to be honoured with your excel- 
lency's determination as soon as possible, as I purpose to pro- 
ceed with the utmost expedition to Philadelphia, and as there 
is no time to lose in preparing for the operations of the next 
campaign." 

We should infer from this letter, that M. Le Ray de Chau- 
mont was the " man at the entrance of the garden." And it 
needs no Sphinx to explain, why a man of Jones' temper quar- 
relled with him, because the gate was not always open. 

Whether the project submitted by Jones was quixotic or ra- 
tional, the French government could not have complied with 
his demands, such as they are intimated to have been by the 
reply of the Compte de Maurepas, from which the following 
extract is taken : " I have examined and communicated to M. 
de Sartine the project annexed to your letter, and we have no 
manner of doubt of the good eff*ect that would result, were it 
entrusted to you. But at present it could not be said what num- 



286 PAUL JONES. 

ber of frigates might be employed, they being all actually 
armed on account of the king, and the plan of the approaching 
campaign is not yet sufficiently determined, positively to say 
how many frigates may be given to you. But this need not 
prevent, if you have the consent of Congress, the execution of 
the first part of your scheme, to come here, as you propose, with 
the Alliance and the other vessels which you may have, and 
with a sufficient American crew to arm the frigates which may 
join you. I will endeavour here to secure some for you, or to 
substitute privateers in their place. This is all I can inform you 
of for the present." 

Three days before the date of the letter last referred to, 
Franklin had written to Jones, sending him his despatches by 
the Count de Vauban, and requesting him to sink them, if ne- 
cessary. The following passage in his letter deserves notice, 
because it would appear that Jones had shown a morbid degree 
of sensibility, after the high ground he had taken and well main- 
tained, to the misconceptions of individuals. " Depend upon it," 
said the minister, "I never wrote to Mr. Gillon that the Bon 
Homme Richard was a privateer. I could not write so ; be- 
cause I never had such a thought. I will, next post, send you 
a copy of my letter to him ; by which you will perceive that he 
has only forced that construction from a vague expression," &,c. 
The vague expression was the mercantile phrase " the concerned^ 
We have no time to spend on Mr. Gillon's misconstructions. 

The Ariel lay at the road of Groix when, on the 13th Septem- 
ber, a month after the date of the last letter that has been quoted, 
when we find an epistle from Jones, dated from on board, to 
Madame la Presidente L'Ormoy : " My particular thanks are 
due to you, madam, for the personal proofs I have received of 
your esteem and friendship, and for the happiness you procured 
me in the society of the charming countess and other ladies and 
gentlemen of your circle. But I have a favour to ask of you, 
madam, which I hope you will grant me. You tell me in your 
letter, that the inkstand, I had the honour to present you as a 
small token of my esteem, shall be reserved for the purpose of 



PAUL JONES. 287 

writing what concerns me. Now I wish you to see my idea in 
a more expanded hght, and would have you make use of that 
inkstand to instruct mankind and support the dignity and rights 
of human nature." 

We have now got among the correspondence of Jones with 
the Parisian ladies. The letters from Delia are most nume- 
rous. Who the lady was that assumed this signature, must 
remain a mystery ; nor would the discovery be of any interest. 
She would be as little identified to every reader of this day by 
her real name, as by that which she assumed. Specimens of her 
manner of writing have appeared in print, in sufficient numbers 
and quantity. Her original letters, in French, indicate a want of 
acquaintance with the art of spelling. It is said in the Edin- 
burgh Life of Jones, that Delia has been discovered in America 
to have been a young lady of the court. This is not the fact, as 
the surmise was first made, upon no authority that has ever been 
heard of, in London. 

Madame T , another correspondent of Jones, a "wor- 
thy lady" as he styles her, and as she was no doubt, was a 
daughter of Louis XV. and of a lady of quality, as we learn by 
a letter from Jones to Mr. Jefferson, written several years after 
this period. " His majesty," Jones says, " bestowed a very 
large fortune on the mother, on her daughter's account. Unfor- 
tunately the father died while the daughter (his great favourite) 
was very young ; and the mother has never since shown her 
either justice or natural affection. She was long the silent vic- 
tim of that injustice ; but I had the pleasure to be instrumental 
in putting her in a fair way to obtain redress." 

His influence at court, real or supposed, was a motive which, 
in addition to his renown, prompted the fair to smile on him, 
and solicit its exertion in obtaining those favours which are won 
by such interest. The Countess de Lavendahl, (or Lawendal, 
as Jones always spells the name,) a young and dashing woman, 
seems to have looked for the promotion of her husband through 
his application, and at the same time to have had no objection 
to indulge in a little harmless gallantry. She painted a minia- 



288 PAUL JONES. 

ture of him, and gave him her own. Certain letters were pub- 
lished in the English press at this period, which were ascribed 
to a young English lady. Miss Edes, residing at Versailles. We 
find the following extracts from them in the Edinburgh Life. 

" The famous Paul Jones dines and sups here often ; he is 
a smart man of thirty-six, speaks but little French, appears to 
be an extraordinary genius, a poet as well as a hero ; a few days 
ago he wrote some verses extempore, of which I send you a 
copy. He is greatly admired here, especially by the ladies, who 
are all wild for love of him, as he for them ; but he adores Lady 

, (the Countess Lavendahl,) who has honoured him with 

every mark of politeness and distinction." 

" Verses addressed to the ladies who have done me the lionour of their polite attention !" 
Presented by Paid Jones to Mademoiselle G . 

" Insulted Freedom bled, — ^I felt her cause, 
And drew my sword to vindicate her laws, 
From principle, and not from vain applause. 
I've done my best ; self interest far apart, 
And self reproach a stranger to my heart ; 
My zeal still prompts, ambitious to pursue 
The foe, ye fair ! of liberty and you : 
Grateful for praise, spontaneous and unbought, 
A generous people's love not meanly sought ; 
To merit this, and bend the knee to beauty, 
Shall be my earliest and latest duty." 

In a subsequent letter, the supposed Miss Edes says : " Since 
my last, Paul Jones drank tea and supped here. If I am in 
love with him, for love I may die ; I have as many rivals as 

there are ladies ; but the most formidable is still Lady , 

(the Countess Lavendahl,) who possesses all his heart. This 
lady is of high rank and virtue, very sensible, good natured, 
and affable. Besides this, she is possessed of youth, beauty, and 
wit, and every other female accomplishment. He is gone, I 
suppose, for America. They correspond, and his letters are 
replete with elegance, sentiment, and delicacy. She drew his 
picture, (a striking likeness,) and wrote some lines under it. 



PAUL JONES. 289 

which are much admired, and presented it to him, who, since 
he received it, is, he says, Hke a second Narcissus, in love with 
his own resemblance ; to be sure he is the most agreeable sea 
wolf one would wish to meet with. As to his verses, you may 
do with them what you please. The king has given him a 
magnificent gold sword, which, lest it should fall into the hands 
of the enemy, he has begged leave to commit to the care of 
her ladyship — a piece of gallantry which is here highly ap- 
plauded. If any further account of this singular genius should 
reach my hands, you shall have it." 

The countess could not have been much pleased to find her 
gallantries thus chronicled in public newspapers, and the fol- 
lowing letter, which Jones wrote to her from Versailles, appears 
to have induced her to think that the correspondence had been 
carried far enough. 

" I am deeply concerned in all that respects your happiness : 
I therefore have been, and am much affected at some words 
that fell ill private conversation from Miss Edes, the evening I 
left Versailles. I am afraid that you are less happy than I 
wish, and am sure you deserve to be. 1 am composing a cipher 
for a key to our future correspondence, so that you will )/e able 
to write me very freely, and without risk. It is a s;/iall dic- 
tionary of particular words, with a number annexed io each of 
them. In our letters we will write, sometimes, the corresponding 
number instead of the word, so that the meaning can never be 
understood until the corresponding words are interlined over 
the numbers. 

" I beseech you to accept the within lock. I am sorry that 
it is now eighteen inches shorter than it was three months ago. 
If I could send you my heart itself, or any thing else that could 
afford you pleasure, it would be my happiness to do it. Before 
I had the honour of seeing you, I wished to comply with the 
invitation of my lodge,* and I need not add that I have since 



Probably the lodge of the Neiif Smurs, of which he was a m«mber. — Ed. Life. 

36 



290 PAUL JONES. 

found stronger reasons that have compelled me to seek the means 
of returning to France again as soon as possible." 

The lady appears to have retained the cipher, the letter, and 
the lock ; but wrote to express her astonishment at Jones' bold- 
ness ; and expressed a supposition that the letter must have 
been misdirected. She begged to introduce to him the Count 
Lavendahl, her husband, who was passing through L' Orient, 
and said she should be obliged to Jones, if he would " pay him 
every civility." 

Jones got out of his false position with admirable coolness 
and dexterity, as the following letter will show. It is dated 
July 14th. 

«' Madam, 

" Since I had the honour to receive your packet from Ver- 
sailles, I have carefully examined the copy of my letter from 
Nantes, but am still at a loss, and cannot conceive, what part of 
the letter itself could have occasioned your imagining I had 
mistaken the address. As for the little packet it contained, 
perhaps it might better have been omitted : if so, it is easily de- 
stroyed. If my letter has given you even a moment's uneasiness, 
I can assure you, that to think so would be as severe a punish- 
ment as coifld be inflicted upon me. However I may have been 
mistaken, my intention could never have been to give you the 
most distant offence. I was greatly honoured by the visit of the 
count, your husband, and am so well convinced of his superior 
understanding, that I am glad to believe Miss Edes was mis- 
taken. I admire him so much, that I should esteem myself 
very happy indeed to have a joint expedition with him by sea 
and land, though I am certain that his laurels would far exceed 
mine. I mention this, because M. de Genet has both spoken 
and written to me on the subject, as from the count himself. 

" I had the honour to lay a project before the king's minis- 
ters in the month of May, for future combined expeditions 
under the flag of America, and had the satisfaction to find that 
my ideas were approved by them. If the count, your husband, 



PAUL JONES. 291 

will do me the honour to concert with M. de Genet, that the court 
may send with me to America the application that was intended 
to be made to Congress, conformable to the proposal I made, it 
would afford me a pleasing opportunity of showing my gratitude 
to the king, to his ministers, and to his generous-minded nation. 
I should be greatly proud to owe my success to your own good 
offices ; and would gladly share with your husband the honour 
that might result from our operations. I have within these few 
days had the honour to receive from his majesiy the cross of 
military merit, with a sword that is worthy the royal giver, and 
a letter which I ardently wish to deserve. I hold the sword m 
too high estimation to risk its being taken by the enemy ; and 
therefore propose to deposite it in the care of a friend. JNone 
can be more worthy of that sacred deposite than you, madam ; 
and if you will do me the honour to be its guardian, I shall 
esteem myself under an additional obligation to deserve your 
ribbon, and to prove myself worthy of the title of your knight. 
I promised to send you a particular account of my late expedi- 
tion ; but the late extraordinary events that have taken place, 
with respect to the frigate Alliance, made me wish to postpone 
that relation until after a court martial in America shall have 
furnished evidence for many circumstances that would, from a 
simple assertion, appear romance and founded on vanity. The 
only reason for the revolt on board the Alliance was, because 
the men were not paid either wages or prize money ; and be- 
cause one or two envious persons persuaded them ,that I had 
concurred with M. de Chaumont to defraud them, and to keep 
them in Europe during the war, which, God knows, was not 
true. For I was bound directly for America ; and far from 
concurring with M. de Chaumont, I had not even written or 
spoken to him, but had highly resented his mean endeavours 
to keep the poor men out of their just rights, which was the 
only business that brought me to court in April. 

" If I am to have the honour of writing you from be} ond sea, 
you will find that the cipher I had the honour to send you may 
be necessary ; because I would not wish all my informations to 



292 PAUL JONES. 

be understood, in case my letters should fall into the hands of 
the enemy. I shall communicate no idea in cipher that will 
offend even such great delicacy as yours ; but as you are a 
philosopher, and as friendship has nothing to do with sex, pray 
what harm is there in wishing to have the picture of a friend .'' 
Present, I pray, my best respects to the count. If we are 
hereafter to be concerned together in war, I hope my conduct 
will give him satisfaction ; at any rate, I hope for the honour of 
his friendship. Be assured that I shall ever preserve for you 
the most profound esteem and the most grateful respect. 

" Paul Jones." 

The brilliant sword of which Jones offered to make the fair 
countess the depositary, bore this inscription : ViNDiCATi MA- 
RIS LUDOVICUS XVI. RE3IUNERATOR STRENUO VINDICI. The 

lady dechned becoming its guardian, as we learn from the next 
epistle, supposing it to have been addressed to her. 

" Ariel, road of Groix, September 21, 1780. 

" Madam, — I was honoured with the very polite letter that 
your ladyship condescended to write me on the 5th of last month. 
I am sorry that you have found it necessary to refuse me the 
honour of accepting the deposite mentioned in my last, but am 
determined to follow your advice, and be myself its guardian. 
[A day or two before I wrote to you last, I had received a chal- 
lenge from Sir James Wallace, who, in the Nonesuch, a ship of 
the line, copper bottomed and of superior swiftness, declared he 
waited in sight for my departure. Had I commanded an equal 
force, I hope you will believe, I would have employed my time 
otherwise than in writing you any proposition for the safety of 
a weapon, that I should have hoped to use immediately with 
success.]* I have been detained in this open road by contrary 



* The passage in brackets, is inserted from the copy of this letter published in Sher- 
burne, where, as in the copy before me, it is addressed to the Countess of Bourbon. 
I find no great difficulty in supposing, that Jones paid to that lady, the same compli- 



PAUL JONES. 293 

and stormy winds, since the 4th of this month. There is this 
moment an appearance of a fair opportunity, and I will eagerly 
embrace it. I have received a letter from the first minister, 
very favourable to the project I mentioned to you, and you may 
depend on my utmost interest with Congress to bring the mat- 
ter to issue. I am sure that assembly will, with pleasure, say all 
yourself or the count could wish, respecting the count, if my 
scheme is adopted. 

*' I have the satisfaction to inform you, that, by the testimony 
of all the persons just arrived in four ships at L'Orient from 
Philadelphia, the Congress and all America appeared to be 
warmly my friends ; and my heart, conscious of its own upright- 
ness, tells me I shall be well received. Deeply and gratefully 
impressed with a sense of what I owe to you and your husband's 
attentions and good wishes, and ardently desiring to merit your 
friendship and the love of this nation, by my conduct through life, 

" I remain, madam, &c. &c. 

" P. S. — I will not fail to write whenever I have any thing 
worth your reading ; at the same time, may I hope to be 
honoured now and then with a letter from you, directed to Phila- 
delphia. I was selfish in begging you to write me in French, 
because your letters would serve me as an exercise. Your Eng- 
lish is correct, and even elegant." 

The correspondence with this lady was resumed somewhat 
more ceremoniously, a few years after this period. 

On the 22d of this month he wrote to M. de la Sartine, sta- 
ting that he could no longer be silent, while the money due to 
them was withheld from his officers and crew, as their loud com- 
plaints "would, through the artifices of Englishmen and Tories, 
give rise to very disagreeable clamours, and be ascribed to minis- 
ters. * * * * Two years, my lord, has that hair-brained man 



ment which the Countess de Lavendahl rejected. But a comparison of dates renders 
it most probable that tiie epistle was written to the latter. 



294 PAUL JONES. 

(M. de Chaumont) been employed in marring every idea of 
mine that was calculated to promote the common cause. * * * * If 
he had not interfered with the police of the squadron, nor be- 
trayed the secret of its intended operations, very essential ser- 
vices might have been rendered to the common cause. I verily 
believe the Baltic fleet could never have entered the ports of 
England; and I am certain that Leith and Edinburgh would 
have been laid under a heavy contribution, and the merchant 
shipping of some of the principal harbours of England burnt to 
ashes. If the Baltic fleet had not entered the ports of England, 
Admiral Rodney would not have sailed, and the flag of Spain 
would now have waved over the ramparts of Gibraltar." M. de 
Chaumont was the cause, certainly, of some strong negatives 
and long inferences. 

We shall now follow Jones' Journal. " He obtained a crew 
for the Ariel, that was ordered by government to be fully armed 
and equipped. He embarked such a quantity of arms and pow- 
der as, with provision for only nine weeks, filled the ship even 
between decks. He hoped to make the passage in a favourable 
season of the year, but was detained by contrary and stormy 
winds in the road of Groix, from the 4th of September till the 
8th of October. He then sailed with a fair wind and pleasant 
weather ; but the next night the Ariel was driven by a violent 
tempest close to the rocks of the Penmarque, a terrible ledge 
between L'Orient and Brest. The ship could show no sail, but 
was almost buried under the water, not having room to run be- 
fore the wind, and having several feet water in the hold. Find- 
ing the depth of water diminish fast. Captain Jones, in the last 
extremity, cast anchor ; but could not bring the ship's head to 
the wind. Sometimes the lower yard-arms touched the water. 
Captain Jones now had no remedy left, but to cut away the fore- 
mast. This had the desired effect; and the ship immediately came 
head to the wind. The main-mast had got out of the step, and 
now reeled about like a drunken man. Foreseeing the danger 
of its either breaking oflf below the gun-deck, or going through 
the ship's bottom, Captain Jones ordered it to be cut away. But 



PAUL JONES. 295 

before this could be done, the chain-plates gave way, and the 
main-mast breaking off by the gun-deck, carried with it the 
mizen-mast ; and the mizen-mast carried away the quarter-gal- 
lery. In that situation, the Ariel rode in the open ocean, to 
windward of perhaps the most dangerous ledge of rocks in the 
world, for two days and near three nights, in a tempest that 
covered the shore with wrecks and dead bodies, and that drove 
ships ashore from their anchors, even in the port of L'Orient. 
It was perhaps fortunate that the Ariel lost her masts, since no 
anchors could have held her so long had the masts stood. By 
the help of jury-masts, erected after the gale, the Ariel return- 
ed to L'Orient." 

This terrible gale was felt over nearly all Europe. Jones spoke 
thus of it in a letter to the Presidente D'Ormoy, dated Octo- 
ber 16th. " By the enclosed declaration of my officers, you 
will see, my dear madam, that I was in a ticklish situation in 
the moment while you were employed in writing to me on the 
9th ultimo. It is impossible to be more sensible than I am of 
the obligation conferred on me by your attentions and kind re- 
membrance, joined to that of the belle comtesse,your fair daugh- 
ters, and the amiable ladies and gentlemen of your society. I 
have returned without laurels, and, what is worse, without 
having been able to render service to the glorious cause of lib- 
erty. I know not why Neptune was in such anger, unless he 
thought it an affront in me to appear on his ocean with so in- 
significant a force. It is certain, that till the night of the 8th, 
I did not fully conceive the awful majesty of tempest and of 
shipwreck. I can give you no just idea of the tremendous scene 
that nature then presented, which surpassed the reach even of 
poetic fancy and the pencil. I believe no ship was ever before 
saved from an equal danger off the point of the Penmark rocks. 
I am extremely sorry that the young English lady you mention 
should have imbibed the national hatred against me. I have 
had proofs, that many of the first and finest ladies of that 
nation are my friends. Indeed, I cannot imagine why any fair 
lady should be my enemy, since, upon the large scale of univer- 



296 PAUL JONES. 

sal philanthropy, I feel, acknowledge, and bend before the sove- 
reign power of beauty. The English nation may hate me, 
but I will force them to esteem me too.^^ 

Writing to Franklin, he said: "I owe the warmest thanks to 
the spirited and unremitting assistance of my officers, who be- 
haved with a steady, composed courage, that does them the 
highest honour ; and I have no fault to find with the conduct of 
any person under my command. They all behaved remarkably 
well. The gentlemen passengers showed a manly spirit, and 
true greatness of mind, even when death, in all its pomp, stared 
them in the face ; and I am sure not one among them ever 
expected to see a returning sun." 

To Dr. Bancroft he wrote as follows : " I am, my dear 
sir, returned to France without laurels, and, which is worse, 
without having been able to render service to our cause. I must 
refer you to Count de Vauban, the bearer of this letter, for 
a description of the late storm. I shall only say, it far ex- 
ceeded all my former ideas of tempest. We must console 
ourselves that no lives were lost — an event remarkably fortu- 
nate under such circumstances. You have, no doubt, received 
news from America. I have seen some of the papers, but find 
nothing very agreeable, except the address of the assembly of 
Rhode Island to the Count de Rochambeau and the answer. 
Lee had reached Philadelphia the night before one of Captain 
Hall's passengers left it ; but we know nothing farther, except 
that no guns were fired, no bells were rung, nor bonfires made 
in consequence of so great an event ! Your efi'ects are dry and 
safe, though many of our things are damaged, I mean our cloth- 
ing, and books, &.C. Part of the powder, arms, and bread, <fec. 
are wet. Count de Vauban behaved remarkably well, and 
appears to me to be a very worthy character. He is determined 
to use his interest with the Duke de Orleans, that the Terpsicore, 
may be substituted for the Ariel." 

The arrival of the Alliance in America, referred to in this 
letter, had been announced to Franklin by Dr. Cooper of Bos- 
ton, who wrote to him on the 8th September, as follows. 



PAUL JONES. 297 

" The Alliance arrived here some weeks ago, with Dr. Lee, 
who is still in town. This vessel appears to me to have left 
France in an unjustifiable manner, though I cannot yet obtain 
the particular circumstances. Landais did not hold his com- 
mand through the voyage, which was either relinquished by him 
or wrested from him. All the passengers, as well as officers and 
sailors, are highly incensed against him, and Dr. Lee as much 
as any one. A court of inquiry is now sitting upon this matter, 
in which the Doctor has given a full evidence against the cap- 
tain, which represents him as insane.^^ 

The result of this court of inquiry was, that Landais was dis- 
missed from the service of the United States. Jones not being 
in America to substantiate them, the more serious charges 
were not urged against him, and he was consigned to insig- 
nificance. 

It was found on examination, that the arms on board of the 
Ariel, which were the most valuable part of her stores, were so 
much damaged that it was necessary to unship and leave them ; 
and she was so much disabled that, though Jones wrote to 
Franklin, on the 13th October, that the repairs had been com- 
menced with great activity, by the assistance of the commandant 
of the marine, she was not ready for sea until December. The 
new expenses thus incurred tried severely the patience of the 
prudent Franklin, and he directed the necessary advances to be 
made with a heavy heart. He was again obliged to expostulate 
with the commodore. Jones used every effort, through his 
friends at court, to obtain the Terpsicore, and endeavoured to 
induce Mr. Silas Deane, and Dr. Bancroft to assist him in his 
application to the Marquis de Castries, who was now minister 
of the marine. But, he says in his Journal, "the noblemen, on 
whose interest he had chiefly depended being absent, the appli- 
cation failed." The Terpsicore was destined to carry de- 
spatches to the East Indies. 

In writing to the new minister, he took the opportunity of 
paying his compliments to him, on his induction into office. 
" Permit me, my lord, to congratulate your excellency on the 

37 



I 

298 PAUL JONES. 

happy choice his majesty has made, in appointing a disinterest- 
ed patriot of your hberal mind and comprehensive understand- 
ing, to govern the royal navy of this kingdom. BeUeve me, my 
lord, I anticipate w^ith a heart-felt pleasure, the happy events of 
your administration ; and I shall rejoice, indeed, to be found 
worthy of your excellency's protection, and to be made instru- 
mental, under your direction, in concert with the Congress, to 
put an honourable end to this war." He transmitted a copy of 
a project he had laid before M. de la Sartine, in May previous, 
and about which he had recently written to the Count de Mau- 
repas, prime minister ; which was to be executed with the aid 
of such frigates as he could procure in America. Writing to 
the Due de la Rochefoucauld, by the next post, he says : " I 
hope so great and noble minded a man, as universal fame calls 
the Marquis de Castries, will either adopt my plan, or some 
better one, whereby I can effectually prove my gratitude to 
France, and promote the interest of the common cause." 

By a letter addressed to the board of admiralty, on the 26th 
October, it appears that at this time a difficulty took place, on 
the score of rank, between Commodore Jones and the celebra- 
ted Captain Truxtun. He says : " I send a letter I received 
from Mr. Truxtun, the master of the Independence, of Philadel- 
phia, dated the 24th, with my answer. Yesterday and to-day 
he has had the insolence to hoist a broad pendant, notwithstand- 
ing. Is not this bidding defiance to Congress and the conti- 
nental flag ? Congress will judge what punishment is equal to 
such a crime, when committed in sight of the flag and forts of 
an illustrious ally." The letters referred to are missing, ac- 
cording to the marginal note in the certified copy of the fore- 
going. Captain Truxtun, according to the Naval Chronicles, 
was sailing in a private armed ship, and had only the commis- 
sion of a letter of marque. Whether any further notice was 
•taken of this incident, we are unable to say. 

Very wisely deeming it expedient to carry with him to Ame- 
rica the.strongest testimonials of the approbation of his services 
by the French court, Jones intimated to the new minister, that 



PAUL JONES. 299 

a confirmation by him, of the letter written in his favour by M. de 
la Sartine, in May previous, would give him cause for gratitude. 
At the minister's desire, Mr. Genet informed him, that the let- 
ter in question was the act of the king in council ; and would 
rather be weakened than confirmed by any additional cer- 
tificate. 

No prize money had as yet been forthcoming. On the 24th 
of November, Jones wrote to M. le Ray de Chaumont as fol- 
lows : " If you have received the produce of the sale of the 
prizes, taken last year by the American squadron then under 
ray command, I request you to pay the part thereof belonging 
to the officers and crews of the Bon Homme Richard and the 
Alliance, into the hands of Messrs. Gourlade and Moylan, their 
legal agents, <fcc." The demand, it will be observed, was 
made upon a contingency. Jones desired that his own share of the 
prize money, both as chief of the squadron and captain of the 
Bon Horamc? Richard, might be paid to Dr. Franklin and Dr. 
Bancroft, his lawful attornies ; and reclaimed payment of the 
wages due to the seamen of the Bon Homme Richard, who 
had been forcibly carried away in the Alliance. These wages, 
it will be remembered, Franklin thought ought to be paid in 
America. Jones wrote to the same purport, to the Marquis de 
Castries, on the same day. In relation to this matter of the 
prize money, it has not been heretofore explicitly stated, that 
the few prizes sent into the ports of France by the expedition, 
before it entered the Texel, had been sold, and the proceeds 
remitted, a year previously, to M. Chaumont, upon his order, 
by Messrs. Gourlade and Moylan. Jones wrote to the minister, 
" By virtue of the authority I had received from government, 
my honour was pledged to see these men justly paid. 1 have 
already suffered many reflections on their account, and I beseech 
your excellency to order them immediate payment." 

Dr. Franklin had been confined to his bed, at this time, for 
some weeks. He wrote to Jones on the 4th December, telling 
him, " I shall strongly solicit the payment of the prize money, 
which I understand is not yet received from the king. I hope 



300 PAUL JONES. 

soon to see an end of that affair, which has met with so many 
unaccountable obstructions. I enclose despatches for Congress, 
which are to be sunk in case of danger. I wish you to make 
the best of your way to America, and that you may have a pros 
perous voyage." By waiting for further despatches which 
M. Gourlade informed him were to be sent, Jones lost a favour- 
able wind, and did not sail until the 18th of this month. As 
before, he made his valedictory compliments to Madame la 
Presidente d'Ormoy. In his letter he says : " 1 am much flat- 
tered by your having mentioned me to so great a man as the 
king of Prussia — ^the world will ever treat his opinion with the 
highest respect." 

On the 18th December, he says in his Journal, he " bade 
adieu to the beloved nation of France ; where, though he had 
met with some difficulties, he had many reasons to be satisfied, 
and was charmed with the courteous behaviour that so nobly 
marked the character of that generous-minded peddle. * * * « 
Having important despatches on board, and being besides much 
lumbered, he had determined to steer directly for America, and 
wished rather to avoid than seek after the enemy." He did, 
however, meet the enemy, and gained another victory, though 
the fruits of it were lost by baseness. With his account of this 
action, from the same journal, we will close the first part of this 
compilation. 

*' After a variety of rencounters, he, in the latitude 26^ north, 
and longitude of Barbadoes, met with a remarkably fast sailing 
frigate belonging to the enemy's navy. Captain Jones endea- 
voured to avoid speaking with that ship, and as the night ap- 
proached, he hoped to succeed, notwithstanding her superior 
sailing. He was, however, mistaken ; for next morning the ships 
w^ere at a less distance asunder than they had been the evening 
before, although during the night the officers of the watch had 
always informed Captain Jones the sail continued out of sight. 
An action now became unavoidable, and the Ariel was prepared 
for it. Every thing was thrown overboard that interfered with 
the defence and safety of the ship. Captain Jones took par- 



PAUL JONES, 301 

ticular care, by the management of sails and helm, to prevent 
the enemy from discovering the force of the Ariel, and worked 
her so well as not to discover any warlike appearance or prepa- 
ration. In the afternoon, the Ariel fired now and then a light 
stern-chaser at the enemy from the quarter-deck, and continued 
to crowd sail as if very much alarmed. This had the desired 
effect, and the enemy pursued with the greater eagerness. 
Captain Jones did not suffer the enemy to come close up till 
the approach of night, when, having well examined his force, 
he shortened sail, to meet his approach. When the two ships 
came within hail of each other they both hoisted English colours. 
The person whose duty it was to hoist the pendant on board 
the Ariel had not taken care to make the other end of the hal- 
liards fast, to haul it down again to change the colours. This 
prevented Jones from an advantageous manoeuvre he had in- 
tended, and obliged him to let the enemy range up along the 
lee-side of the Ariel, where he saw a battery lighted for action. 
A conversation now took place between the two ships, which 
lasted near an hour ; by which Captain Jones learned the situ- 
ation of the enemy's affairs in America. The captain of the 
enemy's ship said his name was John Pindar. His ship had 
been constructed by the famous Mr. Peck of Boston, built at 
Newburyport, owned by Mr. Tracey of that place, commanded 
by Captain Hopkins, the son of the late Commodore Hopkins, 
and had been taken and fitted out at New York, and named 
the Triumph, by Admiral Rodney. Captain Jones told him he 
must put out his boat, and come on board and show his com- 
mission, to prove whether or not he really did belong to the 
British navy. To this he made some excuses, because Captain 
Jones had not told him who he was ; and his boat, he said, was 
very leaky. Captain Jones told him to consider the danger of 
refusing. Captain Pindar said he would answer for twenty 
guns, and that himself and every one of his people had shown 
themselves Englishmen. Captain Jones said he would allow 
him five minutes only to make his reflection. That time being 
elapsed, Captain Jones backed a little in the weather-quarter 



302 PAUL JONES. 

of the enemy, ran close under her stern, hoisted American 
colours, and being within short pistol shot on the lee-beam of 
the enemy, began to engage. It was past seven o'clock, and 
as no equal force ever exceeded the vigorous and regular fire of 
the Ariel's battery and tops, the action while it lasted made a 
glorious appearance. The enemy made a feeble resistance for 
about ten minutes. He then struck his colours. The enemy 
then begged for quarter, and said half his men were killed. 
The Ariel's fire ceased ; and the crew, as usual after a victory, 
gave cries of joy. To ' show themselves Englishmen,' the 
enemy filled their sails, and got on the Ariel's weather-bow be- 
fore the cries of joy had ended on board the Ariel. Captain 
Jones, suspecting the base design of the enemy, immediately 
set every sail he could to prevent her escape; but the enemy 
had so much advantage in sailing, that the Ariel could not keep 
up, and they soon got out of gun shot. The English captain 
may properly be called a knave, because, after he surrendered 
his ship, begged for, and obtained quarter, he basely ran away, 
contrary to the laws of naval war and the practice of civilized 
nations. A conspiracy was discovered among the English part 
of the Ariel's crew immediately after sailing from France. 
During the voyage every officer, and even the passengers, had 
been constantly armed, and kept a regular watch, besides a 
constant guard with fixed bayonets. After the action with the 
Triumph, the plot was so far discovered, that Captain Jones 
confined twenty of the ringleaders in irons till his arrival. Cap- 
tain Jones arrived at Philadelphia on the 18th February, 1781, 
having been absent from America three years, three months, 
and eighteen days." 



END OF PART I. 



■m 



APPENDIX. 



PART I. 



^o. 1. — page 58. 

The following extracts of letters, are published to show that there was no malice 
or bad blood on the part of Commodore Hopkins towards Captain Jones, at the dates 
they bear. The first relates to another transaction, of the same character as that for 
which the suit was brought. They were of course not popular, under the circum- 
stances at the time. What became of the prosecution referred to does not appear; but 
it was no doubt compromised with little comparative expense to any person. 

" Newport, October 18, 1776. 
" Sir, 

" The owners of Captain Demiss' sloop, have delivered two of the men which 
signed their articles, and have given sufficient security that they will not carry away 
any of the men belonging to the fleet. If you find any men on board, that do belong 
to the fleet, take them out, and then discharge the sloop ; as there are some of the 
owners that are men of honour, and will not do any such thing ; it will be hard that 
they should suflTer for one man, that has behaved but of character. So that, upon the 
whole, I think it best to let the sloop and her people go. 

" I am your friend and humble servant, 

*' EzEK Hopkins, Commander in Chief." 
" To John P. Jones, Esquire, Commander of the Providence. 
" Hoysted Hacker, Esquire, Commander of the Hamden." 

" Providence, December 18, 1776. 
a * * * * * 

" If my son Ezek wants to come home, to see his friends, you will be kind enough 
to give him leave. The owners of the privateer made a great noise about your taking 
the men out of her, and have brought an action ; but I think they will make nothing 
of it. We have likewise brought an action against Captain Field for taking our 



No. II. — page 59. 

The following letter, addressed to the Honourable Robert Morris, is published 
entire, because it comprehends the substance, and in many instances the literal ex- 
pressions of Jones, in several other letters, private and official, relating to his own 



304 APPENDIX. 

opinion of what should be the organization of the navy ; and giving a history of the 
difficulties which arose in the infant fleet of the country, concerning rank. The matter 
of these explanations is several times referred to in the text, both of the first and second 
part. 4,ii. lA'i 

Philadelphia, October 10, 1783. 
Sir, 

It is the custom of nations, on the return of peace, to honour, promote, and reward, 
such officers as have served through the war with the greatest " zeal, prudence, and 
intrepidity." And since my country has, after an eight years' war, attained the ines- 
timable blessing of peace and the sovereignty of an extensive empire; I presume that, 
(as I have constantly and faithfully served through the Revolution, and at the same 
time supported it, in a degree, with my purse,) I may be allowed to lay my grievances 
before you, as the head of the marine. I will hope, sir, through you, to meet with 
redress from Congress. Rank, which opens the door to glory, is too near the heart of 
every officer of true military feeling, to be given up in favour of any other man who 
has not, by the achievement of some brilliant action, or by known and superior 
abilities, merited such preference. If this be so, how must I have felt, since, by the 
second table of captains in the navy, adopted by Congress, on the 10th of October, 1776, 
I was superseded in favour of thirteen persons, two of whom were my junior lieu 
tenants at the beginning ; the rest were only commissioned into the continental navy 
on that day ; and, if they had any superior abilities, these were not then known, nor 
have since been proved ! I am the oldest sea officer (except Captain Whipple) on the 
Journal, and under the commission of Congress, remaining in the service. In the 
year, 1775, when the navy was established, some of the gentlemen by whom I was 
superseded, were applied to, to embark in the first expedition ; but they declined. 
Captain Whipple has often and lately told me, they said to him, " they did not choose to 
be hanged." It is certain the hazard at the first was very great ; and some respectable 
gentleman, by whom I am superseded, accepted the appointments of captain and of 
lieutenant of a provincial vessel for the protection of the river, after our fleet had sailed 
from it ; and on board of which tliey had refused to embark, though I pretend not to 
know their reason. But the face of affairs having changed, as we ripened into the 
declaration of independence in 1776, their apprehensions subsided; and in a letter I 
received from the late Mr. Joseph Hewes, of Congress, and of the marine committee, 
dated at Philadelphia, May the 26th, 1776, and directed to me as captain of tfie Pro- 
vidence (U New York, he says, " You would be surprised to hear what avast number of 
applications, are continually making for officers of the new frigates, especially for the 
command. The strong recommendations from those provinces where any frigates are 
building, have great weight." 

He adds, " My utmost endeavours shall be exerted to serve you ; from a conviction 
that your merit entitles you to promotion, and that you ought to command some who 
were placed higher than yourself." I ask, sir, did these " recommendations" plead 
more successful than the merit of all the gallant men who first braved the ocean in the 
cause of America ? Your candour must answer, Yes. What hapless prospect then 
have those, who can only claim from past, though applauded services* Credit, it is 
alleged, has been, however, taken in this Revolution for " unparalleled heroism." I 



APPENDIX. 305 

am sorry for it ; for great as our pretensions to lieroism may be, yet modesty becomes 
young nations as well as young men. But the first beginning of our navy was, as navies 
now rank, so singularly small, that I am of opinion, it has no precedent in history. Was it 
a proof of madness in the first corps of sea officers to have, at so critical a period, 
launched out on the ocean, with only two armed merchant shins, two armed brigan- 
tines, and one armed sloop, to make war against such a power as Great Britain ? 
They had, perhaps, in proportion to their number, as much sense as the present table of 
officers can boast of; and it has not yet been proved, that they did not understand, at 
least astcell theirduty. 

Their first expedition was far more glorious than any other that has been since at- 
tempted from our coast. Every officer on that service merited promotion, who was 
capable of receiving it. And, if there was an improper man placed over them as 
commander in chief, was that a reason to slight or disgrace the whole corps ? Has the 
subsequent military conduct of those officers, by whom the first corps of sea officers 
were superseded, justified the preference they had tocomihandthe new frigates ? If it 
has not, whatshallwesay in favour of the precedence, which, " Repugnant to an Act 
of Congress, of the 22d of December, 1775," and contrary to all rule or e.xample, was 
given them in the second table of naval rank, adopted the 10th of October, 1776 ? 
Could any thing have been more humiliating than this to sea officers appointed and 
commissioned in 1775 .' Would it not have been more kind to have dismissed them 
from the service, even without assigning a reason for so doing ? Before any second 
arrangement of naval rank had been made, perhaps it would have been good policy, 
to have commissioned, five or seven old mariners, who had seen war, to have ex- 
amined the qualifications of the candidates, especially, those who made their conditions 
and sought so earnestly after the comnuind of the new frigates. Those commissioners 
might also have examined the qualifications of the first corps of sea officers, promoted 
such as were capable of it, and struck from the list such as were unequal to the com- 
mission they bore, &c. Thus, by giving precedence in rank to all the captains who 
had served and were thought worthy of being continued ; and also to all lieutenants 
promoted to the rank of captains, for their meritorious services and fit qualifications, 
justice might have been done both to individuals and to the public. It has been said, 
with a degree of contempt, by some of the gentlemen who came into the continenta-l 
navy, the second year of the war, that " I was only a lieutenant at the beginning;" 
and pray, what were they when I was oat on the ocean in that character? They pay 
me a compliment. To be diffident, is not always a proof of ignorance, but sometimes 
the contrary. I was offered a captain's commission at the first, to command the Pro- 
vidence, but declined it. Let it, however, be remembered, that there were three grades 
of sea lieutenants established by the Act of Congress of the 22d of December, 1775; 
and as I had the honour to be placed at the head of the first of those grades, it is not 
quite fair in those gentlemen to confound me with the last ; yet when I came to try 
my skill, I am not ashamed to own, I did not find myself perfect in the duties of a first 
lieutenant. However, I by no means admit, that any one of the gentlemen who so 
earnestly sought after rank and the command of the new frigates the next year, was at 
the beginning able to teach me any part of the duty of a sea officer. Since that time 
it is well known, there has been no comparison between their 7weaws of acquiring mili- 
tary marine knowledge and mine. 

38 



306 APPENDIX. 

If midnight study, and the instruction of the greatest and most learned sea officers, 
can have given mc advantages, I am not without them. I confess, however, I am yet 
to learn. It is the work of many years' study and experience, to acquire the high de- 
gree of science necessary for a great sea officer. Cruising after merchant sliips, the 
service on which our frigates have generally been employed, affords, I may say, no part 
of the knowledge necessary for conducting fleets and their operations. There is noic, 
perhaps, as much diffisrence between a single battle between two ships, and an engage- 
ment between two fleets, as there is between a single duel and a ranged battle between 
two armies. I became captain, by right of service and succession, and by order and 
commission of his excellency Ezek Hopkins, Esq. commander in chief, the 10th day 
of May, 1776, at which time the captain of the Providence was broke and dismissed 
from the navy, by a court martial. Having arrived at Philadelphia, with a little convoy 
from Boston, soon after the declaration of independence. President Hancock gave me 
a captain's commission utjfler (he United States, dated the 8th day of August, 1776. I 
did not, at the time, think tlfiit this was doing me justice ; as it did not correspond with 
the date of my appointment by the commander in chief. It was, however, I presumed, 
the first naval commission granted under the United States. And as a resolution of 
Congress had been passed the 17th day of April, 1776, " that the nomination of captains 
should not determine rank, which was to be settled before commissions were granted." 
My commission of the 8th of August, 1776 must, by that resolution, take rank of every 
commission dated the 10th of October, 1776. My duty brought me again to Phila- 
delphia in April, 1777 ; and President Hancock then told me that new naval commis- 
sions were ordered to be distributed to tlie officers. 

He requested me to show him the captain's commission he had given me the year 
before. I did so. He then desired me to leave it with him a day or two, till he could 
find a leisure moment to fill up a new commission. I made no difficulty. When I 
waited on him the day before my departure, to my great surprise, he put into my hands 
a commission, dated the 10th day of October, 1776, and numbered eighteen on the 
margin ! I told him that was not what I expected, and requested my former commis 
sion. He turned over various papers on the table, and at last told me he was sorry 
to have lost or mislaid it. He paid me many compliments on the services I had per- 
formed in vessels of little force, and assured me no officer stood higher in the opinion 
of Congress than myself; a proof of which, he .said, was my late appointment to the 
command of secret expeditions, with five sail and men proportioned, against St. Kitts, 
Pensacola, Augustine, &c. That the table of naval rank that had been adopted the 
10th of October, 1776, had been drawn up in a hurry, and without well knowing the 
different merits and qualifications of the officers; but it was the intention of Congress 
to render impartial justice, and always to honour, promote, and reward n>erit. And, 
as to myself, that I might depend on receiving a very agreeable appointment soon af\er 
my return to Boston ; and, until I was perfectly satisfied respecting my rank, I should 
have a separate command. See Paper No. 1. I returned to Boston, and it was not 
long before I received orders to proceed to Europe to command the great frigate build- 
mg at Amsterdam, for the United States; then called tlie Indien, and since the South 
Carolina. It was proposed that I should proceed to France in a ship belonging totiiat 
kingdom ; but, some difficulties arising, the sloop of war Ranger of eighteen guns, was 
put under my command for that service, and to serve afterwards as a tender to the 



APPENDIX. 307 

Indiea. Political reasons defeated the plan, after I had met our commissioners at 
Paris, agreeable to their order, to consult on the ways and means of carrying it into 
execution. I returned in consequence to Nantes, and reassumed the command of the 
Ranger. When I returned from Europe and my sovereign told the world, that some 
of my military conduct on the coast of England had been " attended vnth circumstances 
so brilliant as to cacite general applause and admiration ; " when the honours conferred 
on me by his most christian majesty ; to wit, a gold sword, on which is impressed 
the highly flattering words, " Findicati Maris Ludovicus X VJ. Remunerator Strcnuo 
Vindici," and emblems of the alliance between the United States and France, accom- 
panied with the order and patent of military merit, and a very strong and parti- 
cular letter of recommendation to Congress in my behalf. No. 2, were declared 
by them to be "highly acceptable ;" when I was thought worthy of a vote of thanks 
and general approbation so strong and comprehensive, as that hereto subjoined, 
in Paper No. 3, I was far from thinking that such pleasing expressions were all the 
gratification I had to expect. The committee of Congress to whom was referred 
my general examination by the board of admiralty, with the report of that board 
thereon, were of opinion that I had merited a gold medal, with devices declarative 
of the vote of thanks, which I had received from the United States in Congress 
assembled. And I was persuaded that I should also be promoted, or at least restored 
to the place I held in the naval line of rank in the year 1775. I waited patiently for 
some time ; but nothing was done on either of these subjects. Being informed by 
some members of Congress, that it was necessary I should present my claim respect- 
ing rank in writing, [ did so, in a letter of winch No. 4 is a copy, addressed to his 
excellency the president of Congress, the 28th of May, 1781. My application was 
referred to a special committee who, as I have been informed by one of its members, 
made a report in my favour, and gave as their opinion, that I had merited to be pro- 
moted to the rank of rear admiral. Before Congress had taken up the report an appli- 
cation in opposition to me, was made by two of the captains who had superseded me. 
Upon this the report was recommitted. The conmiittee once more reported in my 
favour; but without giving a direct opinion respecting my promotion; and recom- 
mended the appointment of a commander in chief of the navy, as may be seen by the 
annexed copy. No. 5, of that report ; which, on account of the thinness of Congress, 
was on the 24i!i of August, 1781, endorsed "Nut to be acted upon." It is, however, 
plain, it was intended to be taken up again, when a proper opportunity presented 
itself; otherwise it would not have been retained on the files of Congress. This ap- 
pears also by the extract of a letter. No. 6, which I wrote from Portsmouth in New 
Hampshire, and the answer. No. 7, that I received from the honourable John Mathews, 
Esq. who was chairman of the committee respecting the honorary medal, and a mem- 
ber of the committee on my rank. While my claim for ran"k stood recommitted before 
the committee, I was unanimously elected by ballot in Congress, the 26th of June, 
1781, to command the America of 74 guns ; (and, as I was erroneously informed, 
ready to launch at Portsmouth ; ) on which occasion several of the members of Congress 
told me as their opinion, that my rank was thereby settled beyond a dispute ; because 
the America was the only ship in the service " of 40 guns and upwards;" and Congress 
had resolved that captains of ships of 40 guns and upwards should rank as colonels, 
and captains of ships between 20 and 40 guns as lieutenant colonels. There appeared 



308 APPENDIX. 

so much reason and justice in that opinion, that I was then and am still inclined to 
believe it was not without good foundation ; for certainly there is no comparison be- 
tween the trust reposed in a captain of the line and a captain of a frigate ; and, except 
in England, where avarice is the ruling principle of the corps, there is no equality 
between their distinct ranks. A captain of the line must at this day be a tactician. A 
captain of a cruising frigate may make shift without having ever heard of the naval 
tactic. Until I arrived in France, and became acquainted with that great tactician 
Count D'Orvilliers and his judicious assistant the Chevalier Du Pavillion, who each 
of them honoured me with instructions respecting the science of governing the opera- 
tions and police of a fleet, I confess I was not sensible how ignorant I had been of 
naval tactics. 

I have many things to offer respecting the formation of our navy, but shall reserve 
my observations upon that head until you shall have leisure to attend to them, and 
require them of me. 1 have had the honour to be presented with copies of the signals, 
tactics, and police, that have been adopted under the different admirals of France and 
Spain during the war ; and I have in my last campaign seen them put in practice. 
While I was at Brest, as well as while I was inspecting the building of the America, 
as I had furnished myself with good authors, I applied much of my leisure time to the 
study of naval architecture and other matters, that relate to the establishment and 
police of dock-yards, &c. (I, however, feel myself bound to say again, I have yet much 
need to be instructed.) But if, such as I am, it is thought I can be useful in the formation 
of the future marine of America, make whole my honour, and I am so truly a citizen of 
the United States, that I will cheerfully do my best to effect that great object. It was 
my fortune, as the senior of the first lieutenants, to hoist the flag of America the first 
time it was displayed. Though this was but a light circumstance, yet I feel for its 
honour more than I think 1 should have done if it had not happened. See Paper 
No. 8. I drew my sword at the beginning, not after having made sinister conditions 
but purely from principle in the glorious cau.se of freedom ; which I hope has been 
amply evinced by my conduct during the Revolution. I hope I shall be pardoned in 
saying, it will not be expected, after having fought and bled for the purpose of con- 
tributing to make millions happy and free, that I should remain miserable and disho- 
noured by being superseded, without any just cause assigned. Permit me now, sir, to 
draw your particular attention to the following points: 1st, By virtue of my commission 
as the senior of the first lieutenants of the American navy, I stand the next in rank to 
Captain Abraham Whipple, who is the only one of my senior officers now remaining 
in the service. 2ndly, By the commission as captain under the United States, which I 
received from the hands of President Hancock at the door of the chamber of Congress, 
dated the 8tli day of August, 1776, I am entitled to precede all the captains whose 
commissions under the United States are dated the lOtli day of October, following. 
3dly, My right of precedence is confirmed by the Act of Congress of the 26th of June, 
1781, appointing me to the command of the America of 74 guns. Congress having 
previously resolved, that captains of ships of 40 guns and upwards should rank as 
colonels, and that captains of ships from 40 down to 20 guns should only rank as lieu- 
tenant colonels. I will at present say nothing of those pretensions which the favour- 
able notice and recommendation of his most christian majesty might encourage me to 
form, and which have hitherto proved so fruitless to me, though similar recommendn- 



APPENDIX. 309 

tions from Congress to that monarch have proved so efficacious in favour of those who 
were honoured with them. Tiiough I have only mentioned two things that afflict me, 
i. e. the delay of a decision respecting my rank, and the honorary medal, yet I have 
met with many other humiliations in the service, that I hive borne in silence. I will 
just mention one of them. When the America was presented to his most christian 
majesty, I presume it would not have been inconsistent with that act of my sovereign, 
if it had mentioned my name. Such little attentions to the military pride of officers are 
always of use to a state, and cost nothing. In the present instance, it could have been 
no displeasing circumstance, but the contrary, to a monarch who condescends to 
honour me with his attention. I appeal to yourself, sir, whether, after being unani- 
mously elected to command the first and only American ship of the line, my conduct, 
for more than sixteen months while inspecting her building and launching, had merited 
only such cold neglect ? When the America was taken from me, I was deprived of my 
tenth command. 

Will posterity believe, that out of this number the sloop of war Ranger was the best 
I was ever enabled by my country to bring into actual service ? If I have been instru- 
mental in giving the American flag some reputation and making it respectable among 
European nations, will you permit me to say, that, it is not because I have been honoured, 
by my country, either with proper means or proper encou,ragement. I cannot conclude 
this letter without reminding you of the insult offered to the flag of America, by the 
court of Denmark; in giving up to England, towards the end of the year, 1779, two 
large letter of marque ships (the one the Union, from London, the other the Betsy, from 
Liverpool,) that had entered the port of Bergen, in Norway, as my prizes. Those two 
ships mounted 22 guns each, and were valued, as I have been told, at sixteen hundred 
thousand livres Toumois. I acquit myself of my duty by giving you this information, 
now when the sovereignty and independence of America is acknowledged by Great 
Britain; and I trust that Congress will now demand and obtain proper acknowledg- 
ments and full restitution from the court of Denmark. 

I have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, sir, your most obedient and 

most humble servant, 

J. Paul Johes. 

Copy of a report of a committee on Captain Paul Jones' letter and others. Endorsed 
"August 24, 1781, not to be acted upon." 

" The committee to whom were referred the application of Captain John Paul 
Jones; and also the applications of Captain Jcmies Aicholson and Captain Thomas 
Reed, beg leave to report, 

" That by an arrangement of the captains of the navy which wjis adopted by Con- 
gress on the tenth day of October, A. D. 1776, Captain James Nicholson was placed 
first in rank. Captain Thomas Reed eighth, and Captain John Paul Jones the 
eighteenth. 

" The committee cannot fully ascertain the rule by which that arrangement was 
made, as the relative rank was not conformable to the times of appointment or dates of 
commission, and seems repugnant to a resolution of Congress, of the 22d of December, 
1775- It appears that Captains Whipple, Barry, Hollock, and Alexander, were ap- 
pointed captains previous to either of the applicants ; Captain Nicholson was later 



310 APPENDIX. 

than either, excepting Reed ; but Captain Nicholson had a command of armed vessels 
under the authority of the state of Maryland, prior to his being adopted in the conti- 
nental navy. It is, therefore, to be presumed that preference was given to him on that 
account. Upon the whole, the committee submit to Congress whether it will be ad- 
visable to alter that arrangement ? If they should, Captain Jones will now stand the 
fifth captain, if respect be had only to times of appointment in that grade ; but if re- 
gard be had to Captain Jones' being a lieutenant in the navy prior to the appointment 
of many of the other gentlemen, he would then stand second in the rank of captains, 
and Whipple first. 

" The committee also recommend to Congress the expediency of appointing a 
commander in chief of the navy, in the place of the late Ezek Hopkins, Esq. dis- 
missed." 

No. III.— page 63. 

The observation in the note at the foot of the page, is perhaps a superfluous criticism 
on Jones' use of the term inherit. He had recovered, as I know from the best sources, 
several thousand pounds, from .the wreck of his brother's fortune in Virginia ; and 
when he speaks of having lived upon fifty pounds for more than a year, he must refer 
to a period anterior to that immediately preceding. It is not known what amount he 
had received, if any, at this time, of the money due to him in England and Tobago, 
mentioned in his letter to Stuart Mawey, Esq. He was more than 1500 pounds in 
advance for the public service, before he left America, as he afterwards states. Ex- 
cepting an inconsiderable amount of prize money, wrung from the hands of mercenary 
agents, he received nothing for his services to the United States, previous to his return 
in the Ariel, in 1780. There can, therefore, be no doubt that he hazarded his private 
resources as well as his personal safety, in the cause of his adopted country ; and it does 
not appear that he or his representatives were, or to this day are, more fortunate than 
others, who perilled all they had, in the question of our country's independence in 
having the pecuniary account liquidated, though his charges for disbursements on 
account of the government, at several times during the period referred to, were allowed 
He had also his portion of continental money. 

No. IV. — page 70. 

In the early part of the Revolutionary war, the maritime flag seems to have been, 
either the coat of arms of the respective colonies under whose authority vessels were 
equipped, or to have depended upon the whim or fancy of the commanding officer. 
Thus, the brig Yankee Hero, of Marblehead, captured after an obstinate engagement 
by the Milford frigate, bore a pine tree in a white field ; and several fitted out from 
New York bore a black beaver. 

On the 9lh of February, 1776, thirteen months after Manly had been scouring the 
ocean under authority of the colony of Massachusetts, " Col. Gadsden presented to Con- 
gress an elegant standard, such as is to be used by the commander in chief of the 
American navy ; being a yellow field with a lively representation of a rattlesnake in 
"the attitude of going to strike, and these words underneath, ' Don't tread on me.' " 
This was doubtless the strange flag of which an English writer of that period speaks ia 
the following words : " A strange flag has lately appeared in our seas, bearing a pine 



APPENDIX. 311 

tree with the portraiture of a rattlesnake coiled up at its root, with these daring words : 
' Don't tread on me.' We learn that the vessels bearing this flag, have a sort of cona- 
raission from a society of people at Philadelphia, calling themselves the continental 
Congress." 

No. v.— page 75. 

The following letter is without date, and the address is torn off. It is an interest- 
ing fragment. 

" * * * * Count d'Estaing, the king never had a subject who loved him better ; 
who has a nobler mind, or who is a more worthy citizen. Though vice admiral of 
France, (the only officer of that high rank who has served in the late war,) he 
was sent out to America, with no more than the command of a Chef d'Escadre ; and 
from three to four months after I had given the minister of marine the plan of that ex- 
pedition. I gave the plan the 10th of February, 1778. That long and unnecessary delay 
rendered it scarcely possible for the expedition to succeed. Yet this was no fault of 
the vice admiral ; who, on the contrary deserves the highest praise for his zeal and 
perseverance. He would have surmounted every difficulty and taken Lord Howe in 
the road of New York, if a generous sacrifice of his ov>nfortune,lSO,OOOliv.co\i\d have 
induced the pilot to conduct him over the bar. 

" The captains who were about him were constantly in cabal to frustrate his projects, 
and never approached him with their advice, but with a revolting impertinence which 
is highly culpable in the mouth of subalterns when they speak to their chief. The 
admiral had proof that those men had done all m their power, by letters to court and 
otherwise, to ruin him. Carte bkinche was sent him to punish them at his pleasure. 
But he contented himself with showing them that he was too noble minded, to avail 
himself of his power. He gave them every opportunity of distinguishing their zeal 
for their country, and ahvays rendered ample justice to their good conduct. The taking 
of Grenada is a military achievement greater than any other admiral can boast of in 

the course of the last war ; and if Count de G had supported his admiral in the 

engagement with Byron, it would have been the most glorious affair for the flag of 
France that ever happened. If the admiral did not succeed at Savannah, it must be 
attributed to invincible difficulties. No other man in his place would have succeeded. 
He had been misinformed respecting the badness of the coast, where his fleet were 
obliged to remain at anchor far from the land in the open sea, far from every resource 
of provisions, wood, or water. He had been misinformed respecting the length and 
shallowness of the river, the strength of the place, and the force of the enemy. When 
he summoned Savannah to surrender he had not above a fourth part of his troops 
landed, and he had with him neither mortars nor battering cannon. He found the 
enemy much stronger than he had expected ; and it was a stratagem of war that might 
have succeeded ; for he was certain that the enemy did not know that he was not of 
suflicienl force to put his threat in execution. No fault can be found with his conduct 
on that expedition, except it be said, that it was wrong to give the enemy so long time 
as two days to make his capitulation. But to this it may be answered, that the ad- 
miral could not possibly be ready in a shorter time to assault the place ; which was so 
strongly re-inforced in the interim, that an assault must have failed. A siege, therefore, 
became indispensable. This required much more time ; but there is reason to believo 



312 APPENDIX. 

it would have succeeded, if the admiral had not been so dangerously wounded when 
he stormed the place after haying made a practicable breach ; for some of the Ameri- 
cans had got possession of a commanding bastion, before the retreat was ordered. 
In war, the force must be very superior that can insure success. And even a superior 
force may fail through circumstances, without any reflection on the commander. But 
Count d'Estaing deserved success ; and he can say what no other man can do who 
served through all the last war : ' He has had no advancement, his wounds are his 
honours ; and the public esteem his reward.' 

* History says that France has no officer, whom England fears so much. 

" I have the honour to be, &c. «fec. 

" Paul Jones." 

No. VI. — page 144. 

The following letters will be found in the Diplomatic Correspondence of the Ame- 
rican Revolution, Vol. I. pp. 215, 268, 269. 

[To the President of Congress.] 

" Passy, April 12, 1785. 
" Sir, 

" Mr. de Chaumont, who will have the honour of presenting this line to your excel- 
lency, is a young gentleman of excellent character, whose father was one of our most 
early friends in this country, which he manifested by crediting us with a thousand 
barrels of gunpowder and other military stores in 1776, before we had provided any 
apparent means of payment. He has, as I underltand, some demands to make on 
Congress, the nature of which I am unacquainted with ; but my regard for the family 
makes me wish that they may obtain a speedy consideration and such favourable issue 
as they may appear to merit. 

" To this end I beg leave to recommend him to your countenance and protection, 
and am, with great respect, «&c. 

" B. Franklin." 

[To M. le Ray de Chaumont.] 

" Passy, Sept. 15, 1778. 

" Sir 

" As our finances are, at present, in a situation seriously critical, and as I hold my- 
self accountable to Congress for every part of my conduct, even tothe smallest article 
of my expenses, I must beg the favour of you to consider what rent we ought to pay 
you for this house and furniture both for the time past and to come. Every part of 
your conduct towards me, and towards our Americans in general, and in all our affairs, 
has beon polite and obliging, as far as I have had an opportunity of observing, and 
I have no doubt it will continue so ; yet it is not reasonable that the United States 
should be under so great an obligation to a private gentleman, as that two of their 
representatives should occupy, for so long a time, so elegant a seat, with so much furni- 
ture, and so fine accommodations, without any compensation ; and, in order to avoid 
the disapprobation of our constituents on the one hand, for living here at too great or 
at too uncertain an expense; and on the other the censure of the world for not making 



APPENDIX. 313 

sufficient compensation to a gentleman who has done so much for our convenience, it 
seems to me necessary that we should come to an eclaircissement upon this head. 

" As you have an account against the commissioners, or against the United States, 
for several other matters, I should also be obliged to you if you would send it in as 
soon as possible, as every day renders it more and more necessary for us to look into 
our affairs with the utmost precision. 

" I am, sir, with much esteem and respect, 

" Your most obedient humble servant, 

" John Adams." 

[M. le Ray de Chaumont to John Adams.] 

" Passy, Sept. 18, 1778. 

TRA.NSI.A.TION. 

" Sir, 

" I have received the letter which you did me the honour to write to me on the 15th 
instant, making inquiry as to the rent of my house, in which you live, for the past and 
the future. When I consecrated my house to Dr. Franklin, and his associates who 
might live with him, I made it fully understood that I should expect no compensation ; 
because I perceived that you had need of all your means to send to the succour of your 
country, or to relieve the distresses of your countrymen escaping from the chains of 
their enemies. I pray you, sir, to permit this arrangement to remain, which I made 
when the fate of your country was doubtful. When she shall enjoy all her splendour, 
such sacrifices on my part will be superfluous or unworthy of her; but, at present they 
may be useful, and I am most happy in offering them to you. 

" There is no occasion for strangers to be informed of my proceeding in this respect. 
It is so much the worse for those who would not do the same if they had the oppor- 
tunity, and so much the better for me, to have immortalized my house by receiving 
into it Dr. Franklin and his associates. 

" I have the honour to be, 
" Sir, with the most perfect respect, «feci 

" Le Ray de Chaumont." 

The following is part of a letter from the " Nation's Guest," whose remembrances 
of half a century were found to be as vivid, as his enthusiasm had been when 
he embarked in the cause of liberty in 1776. It was addressed to Le Ray de Chau- 
mont, Esq. of Jefferson County, son of the gentleman in question. 

" La Grange, November 10, 1825. 

" Mv Dear Sir, 

" Although your own remembrance of the services rendered to our cause by the late 
Le Ray de Chaumont, and under his direction by his son, precludes the utihty of any 
further evidence, I think it a duty, as one of the few surviving witnesses of those 
transactions to add my testimony to those of William Franklin, Marbois, LaforAst, 
"Monroe, as well as your respected father's recollections. Yet I would think it super- 
fluous to enter with you into a minute detail of the efforts which M. Le Ray de Chau- 
mont made with his favourable situation, large fortune, remarkable talents, and un- 

39 



1 



314 APPENDIX. 

common activity, and constancy to promote the interest of the United States, before 
the recognition of independence by the French court, and afterwards, by his continued 
exertions ; namely in the expedition of the American squadron under the command 
of the gallant Paul Jones." 

An allusion follows to the unsettled account of M. Le Ray de Chaumont. 

I state on the authority of the gentleman to whom the foregoing letter was addressed, 
that a reconciliation took place between Jones and himself after the conclusion of the 
peace, Dr. Franklin having brought them together, in the presence of Robert Morris, 
Esq. at Philadelphia. It was then and there made apparent to Jones, that he had not 
understood how much M. Le Ray Chaumont, senior, had been, and remained so 
largely in advance to the United States; and with his characteristic frankness, the 
commodore admitted his error. A friendship continued between these parties 
afterwards. 

No. VII— pages 169, 198. 

In a memorandum, dated at Versailles, on the 17th of June, 1780, Jones stated 
that, " when the treaty of alliance with France arrived in America, Congress feeling 
the most lively sentiments of gratitude towards France, thought how they might mani- 
fest the satisfaction of the continent by some public act. The finest frigate in the 
service was on the stocks, ready to be launched, and it was resolved to call her the 
Alliance. M. Landais, a French subject, who had then arrived in America from 
France, as master of a merchant ship laden with public stores, had reported that he 
had been a captain in the royal navy of France, had commanded a ship of the line, 
been a chief officer of the port of Brest, and was of such worth and estimation for his 
great abilities, that he could have had any honours or advancement in his own country 
that he pleased to accept; but that his desire to serve America had induced him to 
leave his own country, and even to refuse to receive the cross of St. Louis, that he 
might be at liberty to abjure the religion of his forefathers, which he did accordingly. 
Congress believing M. Landais to be in high esteem at the court of Versailles, and 
thinking, with reason, that it would give pleasure to his majesty to find that ont of hii 
worthy subjects had been treated with distinction in America, appointed him captain 
of the Alliance." 

Captain Landais was well known to the citizens of the United States, especially 
during the latter years of his life. He died on Long Island, in the State of New York. 
For a considerable time prior to his death, he was an annual petitioner to Congress, 
on whose sessions he often attended, to urge his claim for indemnity, on account of his 
portion of the prize money, which ought to have accrued from three prizes sent into 
Norway, whilst he was in command of the Alliance in Europe. His temper, even in 
old age, appeared to be severe ; for whilst at Washington, he could not avoid betray- 
ing his irritability. A remarkable instance of this unhappy constitutional excitability 
is related of him with respect to a member of Congress, who had spoken rather slight- 
ingly of him. Landais dressed himself in his uniform, with a small sword by his side, 
and repaired to the gallery of the House of Representatives, when in session ; indica- 
ting thereby, as well as in conversation with his acquaintances, that he was prepared 
to give any gentleman satisfaction who might be offended with him. He afterwards 
observed, quoting a remark ascribed to Henry IV. of France, that " if there was bad 



APPENDIX 315 

blood in Congress, he would draw it." He affirmed to the last, that he, and not Jones, 
captured the Serapis, attributing her surrender entirely to his having raked her from 
the Alliance ; about which the reader has seen that his assertion was entirely void of 
foundation. 

The following account of this eccentric individual is from a more imaginative and 
perhaps less authentic account. But, it is believed that the statement is, in the main, 
correct. I know that there was such a tombstone erected for Landais, at the place 
mentioned ; but the ground has since been raised in that cemetery, several feet, and like 
him whom it commemorated, il a disparu. At least, I cannot see it there any longer. 

" There was another Frenchman of distinction, who used daily to take his solitary 
walk through Broadway. I allude to Admiral Pierre de Landais, a cadet of the 
family of a younger son of the youngest branch of one of the oldest, proudest, and 
poorest families in Normandy. He had regularly studied in the Ecole de la marine, 
and was thoroughly instructed in the mathematical theories of sailing and building a 
ship, although like the rest of his countrymen, he always found some unexpected dif- 
ficulty in applying his theory to practice. For a Frenchman, however, he was a 
good sailor ; but in consequence of his grandfather having exhausted his patrimony 
in a splendid exhibition of fire works for the entertainment of Madame de Pompadour, 
he had neither interest at court nor money to purchase court favour. He was, there- 
fore, kept in the situation of an aspirant or midshipman, until he was thirty-two years 
old, and was kept, I know not how many years more, in the humble rank of sous lieu- 
tenant. He served his country faithfully, and with great good will until, in the begin- 
ning of the reign of Louis XVL a page of the mistress of the Count de Vergennes 
came down to Cherbourg to be his captain. While he was boiling with indignation 
at this affront, the war between England and America broke out, and he seized that 
opportunity to enter the service of the United States. There he at once rose to the 
command of a fine frigate, and the title of admiral. Soon afterwards came the brilliant 
affair of the Serapis and the Bon Homme Richard, in which Paul Jones, by his im- 
petuous and undisciplined gallantry, earned the reputation of a hero, and poor Lan- 
dais by a too scrupulous attention to the theory of naval science, incurred that of a 
coward. I believe that naval authority is against me ; but I venture to assert, meo 
perictdo, and on the authority of one of my uncles, who was in that action as a lieu- 
tenant to Paul Jones, that Landais erred not through any defect of bravery, but merely 
from his desire to approach his enemy scientifically, by bearing down upon the 
hypothenuse of the precise right-angled triangle prescribed in the thirty-seventh 
" manauvre" of his old text book. 

"The naval committee of Congress unfortunately understood neither mathematics 
nor French ; they could not comprehend Landais' explanations, and he was thrown 
out of service. After his disgrace he constantly resided in the city of New York, ex 
cept that he always made a biennial visit to the seat of government, whether at Phila- 
delphia or at Washington, to present a memorial respecting the injustice done him, 
and to claim restitution to his rank and the arrears of his pay. An unexpected divi- 
dend of prize money, earned at the beginning of the Revolutionary war, and paid in 
1790, gave him an annuity of one hundred and four dollars ; or rather, as I think, a 
hundred and five ; for I remember his telling me that he had two dollars a week on 
which to subsist, and an odd dollar for charity at the end of the year. 



316 APPENDIX. 

"Although Congress under the new constitution continued as obdurate and as im-' 
penetrable to explanation as they were in the lime of the confederation, the admiral kept 
up to the last, the habits and exterior of a gentleman. His linen, though not very fine, 
nor probably very whole, was always clean ; his coat threadbare, but scrupulously 
brushed ; and for occasions of ceremonious visiting, he had a pair of paste knee 
buckles and faded yellow silk stockings with red clocks. He wore the American 
cockade to the last, and on the fourth of July, the day of St. Louis, and the anniver- 
sary of the day on which the British troops evacuated the city of New York, he peri- 
odically mounted his old continental naval uniform, although its big brass buttons had 
lost their splendour, and the skirts of the coat, which wrapped his shrunken person 
like a cloak, touched his heels in walking, while the sleeves, by some contradictory 
process had receded several inches from the wrists. He subsisted with the utmost in- 
dependence on his scanty income, refusing all presents, even the most trifling ; and 
when my naval uncle, on one occasion sent him a dozen of Newark cider, as a small 
mark of his recollection of certain hospitalities at the admiral's table, when in com- 
mand, while he himself was but a poor lieutenant, Landais peremptorily refused them, 
as a present which he could not receive, because it was not in his power to reciprocate. 

"He was a man of the most punctilious and chivalric honour, and at the same time 
full of that instinctive kindness of heart and that nice sense of propriety, which shrinks 
from doing a rude thing to any body on any occasion. Even when he met his bitterest 
enemy, as he did shortly after he came to New York, the man whose accusation 
had destroyed his reputation and blighted his prospects, whose injuries he had for 
years brooded over, and whom he had determined to insult and punish whenever he 
fell in with him, he could not bring himself to offer him any insult unbecoming a gen- 
tleman, but deliberately spitting on the pavement, desired his adversary to consider 
that pavement as his own face, and to proceed accordingly. 

" Thus, in proud, solitary, and honourable poverty, lived Pierre de Landais,Tor some 
forty years, until, to use the language of his awn epitaph, in the eighty-seventh year 
of his age, he " disappeared" from this life. As he left no property behind him, and 
had no relations and scarcely any acquaintances in the country, it has always been a 
matter of mystery to me, who erected his monument, a plain white marble slab, which 
stands in the church yard of St. Patrick's Cathedral, in New York, and on which is 
read the following characteristic inscription i 



t 



A LA MEMOIRB 

de 
PIERRE DE LANDAIS, 

ANCIEN CONTRK-AMIRAL, 

au service 

DES KTATS UNIS. 

Qui Disparut 

Juin 1818, 

Age 87 ans. 

Talisman, IL 329—333. 



APPENDIX. 317 

No. VIIL— page 245. 

It would be unpardonable to omit in a Life of Jones, specimens of the versification 
which he amused himself with making, either out of his own brains, or with the 
assistance of the metriccd common-places, with which his memory seems to have been 
stored. The observation made in the text will be fully justified by them. On© 
piece has been found among the manuscripts before the compiler, which has not been 
previously published. The lines which first follow, referred to ia the text, were 
unquestionably made at the lime of their date, and, as has been remarked by the 
ingenious biographer who contrived to make a connected story out of Mr. Sherburne's 
Collections, are as great a " psycological curiosity," as the singularly wild and beauti- 
ful fragment, entitled Christabel. They differ, certainly, in some strange respects. 
One is the elaborate amusement, (for Jones felt his personal pride quickly awake in 
every thing he did,) of a man who had laughed at the whole English navy, spurned 
the illegitimate protection of France, and evaded the fluctuating and unintelligible 
policy of the country into whose ports he had entered, and taken upon himself that 
awful responsibility, which death itself, without success, will not discharge. Jonea 
had left Scylla barking, and knew that Charybdis was near, when he solemnly manu- 
factured these strains. There is queer poetry in Coleridge's abortion ; but no sen- 
sible person will ever believe, that he wrote down while awake, many hundred lines, 
which he remembered to have composed while asleep. So we will give the laurel to 
Jones, so far as psycological curiosities are concerned. 

VERSES. 

[Written on board the Alliance off Ushant, the 1st day of January, 1780, imme- 
diately after escaping out of the Texel, from the blockade of the British fleets; being in 
answer to a piece written and sent to the Texel by a young Lady at the Hague.] 

I. 

Were I, Paul Jones, dear maid, " the king of sea," 

I find such merit in thy virgin song, 
A coral crown with bays I'd give to thee, 

A car which on the waves should smoothly glide along : 
The Nereides all about thy side should wait, 
And gladly sing in triumph of thy state 
" Vivat, vivat, the happy virgin muse ! 
Of liberty the friend, who tyrant power pursues!" 

n. 

Or, happier lot ! were fair Columbia free 

From British tyranny — and youth still mine, 
I'd tell a tender tale to one line thee 

With artless looks and breast as pure as thine. 
If she approved my flame, distrust apart. 
Like faithful turtles, we'd have but one heart : 
Together then we'd tune the silver lyre. 
As love or sacred freedom should our lays inspire. 



318 APPENDIX. 

III. 

But since, alas ! the rage of war prevails, 

And cruel Britons desolate our land, 
For freedom still I spread my willing sjiils, 

My unsheath'd sword my injured country shall command. 
Go on, bright maid ! the muses all attend 
Genius like thine, and wish to be its friend. 
Trust me, although conveyed through this poor shift, 
My New- Year's thoughts are grateful for thy gift. 



LINES ADDRESSED TO A LADY. 



When Jove from high Olympus goes 

To Ida, and the fair below. 
All heav'n laments — but Juno shows, 

A jealous and superior. wo : 
In vain to her all power is given, 

To female weakness ever dear ; 
She scorns the sov'reignty of heav'n, 

Her God, her Jove, seems all to her ! 

II. 

But when the Thunderer returns. 

And seeks his skies, (so Homer sings,) 
Soft flames the impatient goddess bums ! 

She hastes to meet the King of kings : 
Swift as the light her chariot flies. 

Her swifter wishes fly before ; 
Still joyous in the middle skies. 

She meets the cloud compelling pow'r. 

in. 

Prolific nature feels th' embrace, 

Superior blossoms, fruits and flow'rs. 
Spring up — heav'n wears a brighter face, 

And fragrance in profusion show'rs. 
Celestial raptures who can tell ? 

Ours all divine ! are only/eZ(, 
What bold presumptuous strains shall swell, 

With transports which the gods can melt! 



APPENDIX. 319 



IV. 

Thus when thy warrior, though no god, 
Brings Freedom's standard o'er the main, 

Long absent from thy blest abode, 
Casts anchor in dear France again ; 

O ! thou more heavenly ! — far more kind 
Than Juno, as thy swain than Jove, 

With what heart's transports, raptur'd mind 



Shall we approach on wings of love 



The following verses, on a black profile, are without date, and written on I know 
not what oecasion. 



Pity so excellent a face, 

Should in a shade preserve thy name. 
Such beauty, harmony, and grace, 

The painter's softest tints may claim t 

II. 

The eye, complexion, .spirit, air. 

In that vile profile all are lost, 
Only some features left ! — I swear, 

'Tis not Maria ! but her ghost. 

in. 

O ! did Appelle's genius warm, 
Or had I Raphael's skill divine : 

Their brightest works should cease to charm, 
And Venus' portrait yield to thine. 

IVi 

They drew a Nymph they never saw, 
Then call'd her Love's bright deity, 

My goddess from the life I'd draw. 
And to paint her but copy thee. 



Carnation and the blushing rose, 
Should, blended with the lily, vie. 

And grace, beyond all art disclose. 
The mild blue lustre of thy eye. 



320 APPENDIX. 

VI. 

The loves and graces round should stand, ' 
Or lightly hov'ring o'er thy head, 

With gentle impulse prompt my hand. 
And sweetly mingle light and shade, 

VII. 

And, lest this matchless piece of mine, 
Should tempt me to idolatry; 

Soon as I felt the heath'nish sin, 
I'd turn from that and gaze on thee ! 

VIII. 

Yet as mere picture ne'er could show, 
The beauties latent in thy mind, 

The heav'n-born muse should this pursue, 
The pen be with the pencil join'd. 

IX. 

The loveliest form, the fairest face, 
The brightest eye, the gentlest mind. 

And every virtue, charm, and grace. 
Should be to endless fame consign'd. 

X. 

Posterity thus blest by me, 

Should read and gaze, and read again ; 

For that blue shade an angel see, ,, 

And, for my rhymes, read Homer's strain. 



XMD OF APPENDIX TO PART I. 



^ 



PAUL JONES. 



PART II. 



The year 1781 was to Jones a period of reward for past ser- 
vices and disappointments ; of grateful and honourable repose 
after long and harassing perplexities, and of well founded ex- 
pectation of a distinguished command in future. Its annals, so 
far as he was connected with them, may be summarily recited. 
His reputation as a commander was exalted in America, and 
report had even exaggerated his actions. Dr. Lee, who had 
found out that Landais was insane, and upon whose testimony 
before a court martial the latter had been broke, was now pre- 
pared to go with the current, and even appear as the friend of 
Jones. The board of admiralty, in reporting on " the reasons, 
that the public clothing and military stores had not been im- 
ported," had stated to Congress on the 2d November of the 
previous year, that " it appeared Captain Landais regained 
command of the Alliance by the advice of Mr. Lee, notwith- 
standing his suspension by Dr. Franklin, who, by the direction 
of the marine committee, had the sole management of our ma- 
rine aifairs in Europe." 

Jones landed at Philadelphia on the 18th of February. On 
the following day, a motion was offered, that he should be 
directed to appear before that body, to give all the information 
in his power relative to the detention of the clothing and arms 
in France, intended for Washington's army ; and that the doors 
should be open, during the examination. After debate, on 

40 



322 PAUL JONES. 

motion of Mr. Adams, the consideration of this proposition was 
postponed. A regular inquiry into many particulars of Jones' 
cruises, from November, 1777, when he left Portsmouth in the 
Ranger, was necessary, and in course ; and on the 20th, forty- 
seven questions were drawn up by the board of admiralty, which 
he was required to answer as soon as possible. Two of the ques- 
tions were afterwards extended, to enable his formal answers to 
meet every point of interrogatory, which he did with singular 
promptness ; but before such formal reply was, or could have 
been rendered, the letter of M. de la Sartine had been referred 
to a committee, upon whose report the following resolutions were 
adopted on the 27th : 

" Resolved, That the Congress entertain a high sense of the 
distinguished bravery and military conduct of John Paul Jones, 
Esq. captain in the navy of the United States, and particularly 
in his victory over the British frigate Serapis on the coast of 
England, which was attended with circumstances so brilliant as 
to excite general applause and admiration : 

" That the minister plenipotentiary of these United States at 
the court of Versailles, communicate to his most christian ma- 
jesty, the high satisfaction Congress has received from the con- 
duct and gallant behaviour of Captain John Paul Jones, which 
have merited the attention and approbation of his most christian 
majesty, and that his majesty's offer of adorning Captain Jones 
with a cross of military merit is highly acceptable to Congress." 
In consequence, M. de la Luzerne gave a fete to all the 
members of Congress, and to the principal inhabitants of 
Philadelphia, and in their presence, he, in the name of his 
majesty, invested the commodore with the order of military 
merit. 

The answers of the chevalier to all the forty-seven interroga- 
tories were given early in March. They are terse, frank, and 
perspicuous. The board of admiralty were in the same dilem 
ma, as to the authority under which some of the deputy prize 
agents acted, that every person will fall into on reading the cor- 
respondence of Jones at the time ; and he was still in some 



PAUL JONES. 323 

uncertainty as to this point, in rendering an explanation. He 
mentioned in his second answer, that he sent to the commis- 
sioners the scheme afterwards adopted for Count D'Estaing's 
expedition. On his right to claim the merit of originating this 
project, we have already remarked. He would scarcely have 
now openly claimed it in the face of the world, if contradiction 
and consequent humiliation had been like to result from his so 
doing. He could proudly say, in answer to the 8th interroga- 
tory, " I never have borne nor acted under any other commis- 
sion than that of the Congress of America." He stated in reply 
to searching queries about his objects and projects, that he had 
a variety of the latter, but as to many of them, no person was 
in his secret. His main and prominent purpose was to effect 
the liberty and exchange of American citizens, " confined as 
pirates, felons, and traitors, in the dungeons of England." His 
" second was, the honour of the American flag." At whose 
expense the Alliance had been provided for, he was not aware. 
He believed that the American officers and men, had received 
from their agents, some part of the shares arising from the 
sales of prizes taken by the Squadron under his command ; but 
it was their own private transaction. He repeated his assertion, 
(which he believed, without evidence, to be correct,) that M. de 
Chaumont, the commissary, had been intrusted with funds by the 
government, for the expense of the armament, which he with- 
held. He gave a satisfactory account of the reasons why the 
clothing and arms had not been forwarded, and of the reasons 
for the delay of the sailing of the Ariel in relation to which there 
were five or six very precise questions. His biographer in the 
Edinburgh Life did not examine dates or facts, when he thought 
it necessary not merely to apologize for the latter delay of that 
ship, but to admit that Jones was accessary to it, after the 
disaster in September. To the last question he replied, that 
the officers and crew of the Ariel had enlisted for three years,* 



* Or during the war, as elsewhere appears. 



324 PAUL JONES. 

except a few who entered at L' Orient for one year, after the 
ship put back, and that they were at the expense of the United 
States. There is nothing else requiring present notice in these 
clear headed replies to diversified interrogations, and compli- 
cated and disconnected matters, which has not been previously 
explained. Jones was mistaken on one point only ; and his 
error arose from an excitement of feeling, the prompting casue 
of which, the sufferings of poor seamen, was a proper M)ne. 
" The light that led astray was light from heaven," which hu- 
man weakness saw through a discoloured medium. 

On the 28th March, the board of admiralty made a report, 
purporting to be in pursuance of two resolutions of Congress, 
passed in the previous year, inquiring into the causes of the 
delay in the arrival of the stores and clothing. They stated, 
that the procrastinated investigation had been resumed on the 
arrival of Jones, and that, on propounding their questions to 
him, with a view to a full explanation, they had desired him " to 
subjoin to his answers all such matters as he might think would 
throw light on their inquiry." The questions and answers ac- 
companied the report, with the voluminous correspondence of 
Jones, referred to in the margin of the answers, where imnire- 
diately connected with them, the rest being arranged in four bun 
dies. The board were " fully satisfied," that the delay " had 
not been owing in any measure to a want of the closest atten- 
tion to that business, either in the minister plenipotentiary of 
the United States, or to Captain Jones ; who had, on the con- 
trary, made every application and used every effort to accom- 
plish that purpose ; but that it was owing to Captain Landais' 
taking the command of the Alliance, contrary to the express 
orders of Dr. Franklin, and proceeding with her to America." 
It then set forth the sentence of the court martial held on Lan- 
dais, and that, after he had been dismissed from the service, a 
further prosecution was deemed improper ; that Jones had 
vainly endeavoured to procure an additional vessel for the trans- 
portation of the clothing ; that the court of France had furnish- 
ed no money to the American minister, to enable him to procure 



PAUL JONES. 



325 



clothing ; that they had commissioned M. Le Ray de Chau- 
mont to do so, and that Mr. J. Williams of Nantes, and Messrs. 
Gourlade and Moylan acted solely under his orders. They 
acquitted Jones of negligence in suffering the brig Luke to sail 
from L'Orient, with a part of this clothing on board, in the lat- 
ter part of October, without wailing for the convoy of the Ariel, 
as he had not been spoken to by Gourlade and Moylan, and had 
no control over her himself. They then, after enumerating 
the actions of Jones, reported that, " ever since he first became 
an officer in the navy of those States, he hath shown an unre- 
mitted attention in planning and executing enterprises calcu- 
lated to promote the essential interests of our glorious cause. 
That in Europe, although in his expedition through the Irish 
Channel, in the Ranger, he did not fully accomplish his purpose, 
yet he made the enemy feel that it is in the power of a small 
squadron, under a brave and enterprising commander, to reta- 
liate the conflagrations of our defenceless towns. That return- 
ing from Europe, he brought with him the esteem of the greatest 
and best friends of America; and hath received from the illus- 
trious monarch of France that reward of warlike virtue, which 
his subjects receive by a long series of faithful services or un- 
common merit. 

" The board are of opinion that the conduct of Paul Jones 
merits particular attention, and some distinguished mark of 
approbation from the United States in Congress assembled." 

It may here be as well stated, chronologically, that the "brave 
Captain John Barry," as Jones called him, and as he was at this 
moment proving himself, sailed in command of the Alliance from 
Boston in February, having on board Colonel Laurens, specially 
commissioned by Congress to the court at Versailles. Having 
landed the envoy at L'Orient, he sailed thence on the 30th 
March, and three days afterwards redeemed the credit of the 
Alliance, by taking with no great trouble, a couple of ships, 
which Landais, if he had acted consistently, would, according to 
the testimony, have run away from. 

The report of the board of admiralty, having been referred 



326 PAUL JONES. 

to a committee, on the coming in of their report, Congress 
passed the following resolution on the 14th April. 

'* Resolved, That the thanks of the United States in Congress 
assembled, be given to Captain John Paul Jones, for the zeal, 
prudence, and intrepidity with which he has supported the ho- 
nour of the American flag ; for his bold and successful enter- 
prises. to redeem from captivity the citizens of the States who 
had fallen under the power of the enemy ; and in general, for 
the good conduct and eminent services by which he has added 
lustre to his character, and to the American arms : 

" That the thanks of the United States in Congress assem- 
bled, be also given to the officers and men who have faithfully 
served under him from time to time, for their steady afi'ection 
to the cause of their country, and the bravery and perseverance 
they have manifested therein." 

The next in order of these truly glorious testimonials, is a 
letter from the father of his country ; the man whom " modern 
degeneracy had not reached," and whom it is foolish to say that 
modern degeneracy has equalled. 

"Head Quarters, New Windsor, 15th May, 1781. 

" Sir, 

" My partial acquaintance with either our naval or commer- 
cial affairs makes it altogether impossible for me to account for 
the unfortunate delay of those articles of military stores and 
clothing which have been so long provided in France. 

" Had I had any particular reasons to have suspected you of 
being accessary to that delay, which I assure you has not been 
the case, my suspicions would have been removed by the very 
full and satisfactory answers which you have, to the best of my 
knowledge, made to the questions proposed to you by the board 
of admiralty, and upon which that board have, in their report 
to Congress, testified the high sense which they entertain of 
your merits and services. 

" Whether our naval affairs have in general been well or ill 
conducted would be presumptuous in me to determine. Instances 



PAUL JONES. 327 

of bravery and good conduct in several of our officers have not, 
however, been wanting. Delicacy forbids me to mention that 
particular one which has attracted the admiration of all the 
world, and which has influenced the most illustrious monarch 
to confer a mark of his favour which can only be obtained by 
a long and honourable service, or by the performance of some 
brilliant action. 

" That you may long enjoy the reputation you have so justly 
acquired is the sincere wish of, 

" Sir, your most obedient servant, 

" Geo. Washington." 

With such expressions of official and public approbation in 
his favour, Jones says in his journal, that he addressed Congress 
on the 28th May, but " modestly rested his pretensions to rank 
only on the commission he held as the eldest of the first grades 
of heutenants in the navy, under the United Colonies ; because 
by all rule and example of military promotion, that commission 
entitled him to rank before all persons who did not enter into 
the sea service of the continent as early as himself, unless pre- 
ference had been given to other gentlemen, on account of their 
known superior abilities, which had not been the case. Con- 
gress referred the application to the Honourable Messrs. Var- 
num, Mathews, and Clymer. Mr. Varnum, the chairman, in- 
formed Captain Jones that the committee agreed in opinion, and 
would report to Congress, that he had been very imfairly treated 
in the arrangement of naval rank, adopted October 10th, 1776 ; 
and that the conduct and services of Captain Jones had merited 
that he should be promoted to the rank of rear admiral. But 
before Congress had time to act upon the report of their com- 
mittee, opposition was made to the application of Captain 
Jones, by one or two captains whose names had been placed 
before him, on their first introduction to the sea service of the 
continent. Upon this Congress recommitted the report. But 
this did not, however, lessen the pretensions of Captain Jones, 
either in the opinion of the committee or of Congress." This 



328 PAUL JONES. 

remark is verified by the acts of that body. On the 16th June, 
the following report was made from the admiralty office. 

" The board, to whom was referred the letters and other 
papers relative to the conduct of John Paul Jones, Esq. beg 
leave to report, that they have carefully perused said letters 
and papers, wherein they find favourable mention is made of 
his abilities as an officer by the Duke de Vauguyon, M. de Sar- 
tine, and Dr. Franklin ; and this is also corroborated by that 
valour and intrepidity with which he engaged his Britannic 
Majesty's ship, the Serapis, of forty-four cannon, 12 and 18 
pounders, which, after a severe contest for several hours, sur- 
rendered to his superior valour, thereby acquiring honour to 
himself and dignity to the American flag. 

" The board therefore humbly conceive that an honourable 
testimony should be given to Captain Paul Jones, commander 
of the Bon Homme Richard, his officers and crew, for their 
many singular services in annoying the enemy on the British 
coasts, and particularly for their spirited behaviour in an en- 
gagement with his Britannic Majesty's ship of war, the Serapis, 
on the 23d of September, 1779, and obliging her to sui-render 
to the American flag." 

Other reports from the same quarter, recapitulating the par- 
ticulars of Jones' services, bore unequivocal testimony to his 
ingenuous patriotism, during the whole course of his engagement 
in the public service. On the 23d June, it was resolved, that 
Robert Morris, Esq. should be authorised to take measures for 
speedily launching and equipping for sea the ship America, then 
on the stocks at Portsmouth in New Hampshire, and that Con- 
gress should proceed, three days thereafter, to the appointment 
of a commander of that vessel. Accordingly, on the 26th, the 
following entry is found in the Journals : " Congress proceeded 
to the appointment of a captain, to command the ship America ; 
and, the ballots being taken, John P. Jones, Esq. was unani- 
mously elected." Jones says, that other captains had been put 
in nomination against him ; and as the new ship was the only 
one of the line then belonging to this government, the comneti- 



PAUL JONES. 329 

tion for the command was in fact a test of the disposition Con- 
gress would make of the dehcate question of rank. He could 
not but have been highly satisfied with the result ; and draws the 
conclusion that, by virtue of the Act of Congress, passed No- 
vember 15th, 1776, he held after this election, a rank equiva- 
lent to that of colonel, " with the exclusive rank of captain of 
the line ; while none of the other captains, as they had only 
commanded frigates under forty guns, could claim any higher 
rank than that of lieutenant colonel. " Thus," he continues, 
" Congress took a delicate method to avoid cabal, and to 
do justice. It was more agreeable to Captain Jones to be so 
honourably elected captain of the line, than to have been, as 
was proposed by the committee, raised at once to the rank of 
rear admiral ; because Congress had not then the means of 
giving him a command suitable to that rank." In a document 
published in the Appendix to the first part of this work, his 
opinions on the subject of naval rank, and what should be the 
qualifications of officers, are stated in full. To that we ^-efer the 
reader generally, as comprising in substance a variety of obser- 
vations made on these subjects by him at different periods, which 
occur in several of the letters and official communications from 
him, which are preserved. How much he had reflected on the 
topic, and how highly he rated the dignity and duties of a naval 
commander will there be seen, and best understood. 

The board of admiralty was dissolved at this time, and Mr. 
Morris, minister of finance, became also minister of the 
marine. He directed Jones, before proceeding to take com^ 
mand of the America, to exhibit his accounts to Congress. He 
had received a small share of prize money from some of his 
captures, but not a farthing for pay or subsistence up to this 
period. His accounts were approved as exhibited ; " but," he 
says " there was no interest allowed for considerable advances 
that had been made for nearly five years ; nor was there any 
thing allowed for his subsistence, or the various losses he had 
sustained in the service, as he had, from delicacy, [eft those 

41 



330 PAUL JONES. 

items blank in his accounts."* He was personally embarrassed 
at this time, as were many of the gallant men who were putting 
at stake all present interest and future hopes, in the cause of 
independence, by the poverty of the government. This will 
appear from a letter in the subjoined note. He observes in his 
journal, (I quote from the original rough draft of this part of it,) 



* In Jones' account current, rendered to the marine committee, as per date, on the 
24th October, 1777, the balance due to him, " exclusive of any concern with the ship 
Ranger, balance of wages, &c." is stated at £1,538, Pennsylvania currency. A com- 
mission of 5 per cent, is charged on the sum total of the amount charged against the 
committee. In another account rendered on the 1st November, in the same year 1777, 
the sum of $5,900 is charged against the committee, as bounty money advanced to the 
crew of the Ranger. There is another account of the same date, made out against the 
committee, amontingto $2,891, for sundry expenses incurred in supplying the Ranger, 
enlisting seamen, overtaking deserters, persona! expenses, &c. In an account, dated 
at the Texel, November 29th, 1779, he charges 352 ducats for contingent disburse- 
ments, 100 of which were paid to the Hull pilot, John Jackson, " for smart money." 
The stores he had purchased and lost in the Alliance, amounted to a considerable item. 
These are all the particulars contained in the vouchers in the compiler's hands, dated 
previous to the year 1781. On the 26th of June, in that year, he rendered his account 
as mentioned in the text. He charges for pay, as the senior first lieutenant of the 
navy, twenty dollars per month, from December 7th, 1775, to May 10th, 1776 ; and, 
as captain in the navy from that period to the date of the account, sixty dollars per 
month, making £1,400 5s, Pennsylvania currency. In a certified copy of his account 
current, by which it appears that there was due to him in Pennsylvania currency 
£2,034, he makes the following charge, in blank, after stating a balance : " To rations 
from the 7th of December, 1775, to this date, for myself and servant, having com- 
manded a squadron in Europe ;" and thereunder is written, " Due the Chevalier Paul 

Jones ," also in blank, leaving it to Congress to make such allowance as they 

might deem proper. None was made, as is stated in the text. The following letter, 
Vritten two days after the date of this account current, will show that Jones was in 
Immediate want of resources for personal comfort and convenience. 

" Philadelphia, July 28, 1781. 
" Sir, 

" In consequence of the Act of the United States, in Congress assembled, of the 25th 
of this month, approving of my accounts, No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, and referring them 
to the board of treasury, to take order, I have waited on that board in hopes of receiving 
cash to the amount of £400, to pay small debts I owe in this city, and defray the 
expenses of my journey to Portsmouth in New Hampshire ; but the board has not 



PAUL JONES. 331 

'* he had, like many other supporters of the revolution, hurt his 
private fortune, by the early advances he had made to the con- 
tinental loan office." 

He was assured that vrays and means would be provided for 
him to put to sea, within six months from the day of his election 
as commander of the America. He conferred with Mr. Morris 
on the plan he had suggested to the French ministry, of form- 
ing a light combined squadron to annoy the enemy ; and that 
gentleman assented to its utility. The chevalier left Philadel- 
phia, as he expresses himself, "with a pleasing hope of being 
soon in a situation that would enable him to manifest his grati- 
tude for the honours he had received, by rendering essential 
services to the common cause of America and France." On 
his way to Portsmouth, he paid a visit to General Washington 
and Count Rochambeau, at White Plains, where the combined 
armies were encamped. He wore his cross as Chevalier of the 
order of Merit, on this occasion ; but, he says, as it was hinted to 
him that he might offend the people of the eastern States, by 



complied with my demand. In my letter to your excellency, dated the 17th of this 
month, I observed that, I had been obliged to borrow a considerable part of the cash 
I had advanced for the public service. And the accounts from No. 1, to 6 inclusive, 
being cash I have advanced, (a considerable part whereof from four to five years ago,) 
I hope Congress will be pleased to order that the said accounts, from No. 1 to 6 inclu- 
sive, be paid either in cash or bills of exchange on Europe, to enable me to pay the 
debts I have contracted in France. I have made no charge for interests on the advances 
I have made ; but submit that matter to Congress, to allow it or not as they think fit. 
I pray the honourable House to direct, that I may be furnished immediately with cash, 
to the amount of £400, to enable me to proceed to New Hampshire, to testify by my 
conduct the very grateful sense I have of the high honour Congress has conferred on 
me by my late appointment. It is necessity alone that compels me to make this appli- 
cation, having no friends of my own at this time in a situation to answer my wants, 
and having failed in attempts to borrow. I am with profound respect, 

" Sir, your excellency's most obedient, and most humble servant, 

" His Ex. Tho. M. Kean, Esq. (Signed.) " The Chevalier Paul Jones. 

" President of the U. States in Congress assembled. 

" N. B. The balance due on the within mentioned accounts, exclusive of interest, 
&c. is £5,413, 18s, 7 3-id. And the rations ought to be also allowed in proportion to 
equal rank and command in the army, deducting only the time occupied in the journey 
as expressed in the detail of charges." 






332 PAUL JONES. 

continuing to exhibit that article, he laid it aside as soon as he 
had left head quarters. ' 

He thus proceeds with his commentaries : *' On his arrival at 
Portsmouth, which was at the end of August, he found his pro- 
spects greatly circumscribed, and involved in many difficulties, 
that neither his friends nor himself had foreseen at Philadelphia. 
The America, instead of being ready to be launched, was not 
half built; and there was neither timber, iron, nor any other 
material prepared for finishing her. Money would not have 
procured the necessary articles of equipment and men before 
winter. But money was wanting; for the navy board at Boston 
had otherwise applied the funds, which the minister of finance 
had destined for the America ; and he had so many demands 
to meet, on account of the troops then detached from White 
Plains, on the secret expedition against Lord Cornwallis in Vir- 
ginia, that he found it impossible to make the necessary ad- 
vances. The business was, however, begun immediately, and 
some progress made in the construction before the winter. 

In a letter Avritten by him to the secretary of the admiralty 
at Boston, on the 24th of November in this year, he says : "I 
wish you to see as well as hear the situation of affairs here, 
that we may either adopt effectual measures, or give up a fruit- 
less pursuit." In the same letter he mentions it as a matter 
of reproach to the service, that the officers of the Alliance had 
sold some of the articles on board, which were his private pro- 
perty ; and had not been called to an account, " for their re- 
peated misconduct, mutiny, and rebellion in that ship ;" and 
that " a board had received with approbation other officers, 
who had deserted from the service in' Europe." He speaks of 
these things as matters of report, and some of them probably 
were no more. Congress had far more important business on 
hand. 

The capitulation of Cornwallis in the middle of October, and 
the events preceding and consequent upon it, formed the subjects 
of a letter from Jones to La Fayette, as vve learn from the fol- 
lowing reply, dated December 22d 



PAUL JONES. 333 

*' I have been honoured with your polite favour, my dear Paul 
Jones, but before it reached me I was already on board the Al- 
liance, and every minute expecting to put to sea. It would 
have afforded me great satisfaction to pay my respects to the 
inhabitants of Portsmouth, and the State in which you are for 
the present. As to the pleasure to take you by the hand, my 
dear Paul Jones, you know my affectionate sentiments, and my 
very great regard for you, so that I need not add any thing on 
that subject. 

" Accept of my best thanks for the kind expressions in your 
letter. His Lordship's (Lord Cornwallis) downfall is a great 
event, and the greater, as it was equally and amicably shared 
by the two allied nations. Your coming to the army I had the 
honour to command, would have been considered as a very flat- 
tering compliment to one who loves you and knows your worth. 
I am impatient to hear that you are ready to sail ; and I am 
of opinion that we ought to unite under you every continental 
ship we can muster, with such a body of well appointed marines 
{troupes de mer) as might cut a good figure ashore, and then 
give you plenty of provisions and car^e.6/«wc/te. 

" I am sorry I cannot see you ; I also had many things to tell 
you. Write me by good opportunities, but not often in ciphers, 
unless the matter is. very important." 

Three days afcer the date of this letter, we find Jones indi- 
ting the following matter to the anonymous lady in France. 

"I wrote my most lovely Delia various letters from Philadel- 
phia, the last of which was dated the 20th of June. On the 
26th of that month I was unanimously elected by Congress to 
command the America of 74 guns, on the stocks, at Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire. I superintended the building, which I found 
so much more backward than I expected, that a plan of opera- 
tion I had in view is entirely defeated. I expected to have been 
at sea this winter, but the building does not go on with the 
vigour I could wish. Since I came here I have not found a single 
good opportunity to write to Europe. I have not since heard 
from your relation I left behind, but suppose he is with the 



334 PAUL JONES. 

army. This situation is doubly irksome to me, my lovely friend, 
as it stops my pursuit of honour as well as love ! It is now more 
than twelve months since I left France ; yet I have not received 
a single letter from thee in all that time, except the one written 
in answer to my letter at taking leave. That one is a tender 
letter indeed, and does honour to thy matchless heart !" 

The " plan of operation" was not only defeated, but Jones 
was again to be altogether disappointed, in obtaining command 
of the America, as he had been in the case of the Indien. We 
are, however, anticipating forthcoming events ; the unavoida- 
ble fault of all who have undertaken a biography of this com- 
mander. What John Adams thought of his plans of operation 
at this time, appears from the following extracts of a letter, 
dated at the Hague, August 12th, 1782. 

" The command of the America coidd not have been more 
judiciously bestowed, and it is with impatience that I wish her 
at sea, where she will do honour to her name. Nothing gives 
me so much surprise, or so much regret, as the inattention of 
my countrymen to their navy ; it is a bulwark as essential as it 
is to Great Britain. It . is less costly than armies ; and more 
easily removed from one end of the United States to the other. 
* * * * Every day shows that the Batavians have not wholly lost 
their ancient character. They were always timid and slow in 
adopting their political systems, but always firm and able in 
support of them, and always brave and active in war. They 
have hitherto been restrained by their chiefs ; but, if the war 
continues, they will show that they are possessed of the spirit of 
liberty, and that they have lost none of their great qualities. 
" Rodney's victory has intoxicated Britain again to such a de- 
gree that I think there will be no peace for some time. Indeed, 
if I could see a prospect of half a dozen line of battle ships under 
the American flag, commanded by Commodore Paul Jones, en- 
gaged w^ith an equal British force, I apprehend the event would 
be so glorious for the United States, and lay so sure a founda- 
tion for their prosperity, that it would be a rich compensation for 
a continuance of the war. 



PAUL JONES. 335 

" However, it does not depend upon us to finish it. There is 
but one way to finish it, and that is, Burgoynizing Carlton in 
New York." , 

It will be proper to remember that the independence of the 
United States had been recognised by those of Holland in April, 
previous to the date of this letter ; that a commercial treaty was 
made in October following ; that the " intoxication" of the people 
of Great Britain soon passed away, so far as that can be called 
an expression of popular opinion, which is not a direct one ; and 
that the English government now began to give up the idea of 
waging war against these United States, because they could not 
carry it on any longer. 

Jones says, that the task of inspecting the construction of the 
America, was " the most lingering and disagreeable service he 
was charged with during the period of the revolution. * * * * 
But from the beginning, and almost to the end of the business, 
he had a prospect of carrying into effect by perseverance, the 
plan he had suggested for forming a light combined squadron. 
When the news of the surrender of Earl Cornwallis reached 
Portsmouth, a public rejoicing took place ; and as Captain Jones 
found it would not offend the people, he, on that glad occasion, 
resumed the decoration of military merit, and continued to wear 
it afterwards. As soon as the enemy had advice that there 
was a prospect of finishing the America, various schemes were 
suggested for destroying that ship. Intelligence of this was 
sent to Portsmouth, in cipher, by the minister of marine. 
Captain Jones made appHcation to the government of New 
Hampshire for a guard, to protect the vessel ; and the assembly 
passed a resolution to comply with his demand. None was, 
however, furnished ; and, as a second alarm was sent to New 
Hampshire by General Washington, Mr. Hackett, the master 
builder and his associate were prevailed on to mount guard, 
with a party of the carpenters, by night." For some time he 
paid this guard himself; and took command of it, in his turn, 
with the master builders. Large whale boats, with muffled 
oars, came into the river, meanwhile, full of men, " and passed 



336 PAUL JONES. 

and repassed the America in the night ; but dared not land on 
the little island where she was built." 

The birth of the Dauphin of France was officially communi- 
cated to Congress in the summer of 1782. Public rejoicings 
took place in several of the States in consequence. Jones did 
not " let slip the opportunity^" as he phrases it, " of testifying 
the pleasure and gratitude which he really felt." At his private 
expense he had artillery mounted on board of the America. 
She was decorated with the flags of different nations, displaying 
in front that of France ; " fired salutes as often as the forts, 
and thirteen royal salutes at the toast drunk at a public enter- 
tainment, and afterwards continued a. feu dejoie until midnight. 
When it became dark, she was brilliantly illuminated and dis- 
played fire-works."* The Chevalier de la Luzerne, addressed 
to him a complimentary letter in consequence. Jones dwells 
with pleasure on matters of this kind ; and they belong to the 
reminiscences of the period. On the anniversary of our inde- 
pendence in that year he " made a similar rejoicing." 

Hegives the following description of the America : " Captain 
Jones did not approve nor follow the plan that had been pro- 
posed for finishing the upper works of the America. It had 
been intended to make the waist shallow with narrow gang- 
ways ; the quarter-deck and forecastle to be short, with a large 
stern-gallery. Instead of this, the quarter-deck was made to 
project four feet before the main-mast. The forecastle was 
also long, the waist deep, and the gangways broad and of equal 
height with the quarter-deck and forecastle. There was just 
room for the boats between the gangways. A breast-work, 
pierced with gun-ports, but of suitable height for musketry, and 



* In one of the manuscripts preserved among the papers of Jones there is a formal 
bulletin in French of this " celebrafion made by Commodore Jones, at his own ex- 
pense, on board the America, &c." We learn from it that three large lanterns were 
devised for the occasion, and that the fire-works continued until midnight. They had 
a very brilliant effect from the circumstance that it was a very dark night. All the in- 
habitants of the town, and its vicinity, were assembled on the banks of the river, and 
testified their admiration by every possible show of applause. 



PAUL JONES. 337 

of the same strength and nature as the sides of the ship, ran all 
round the quarter-deck, gangway, and forecastle ; so that all 
the cannon on the quarter-deck and forecastle could have been 
fought on one side ; an advantage possessed by no other ship of 
the line we had. Above this breast-work, the poop-deck stood 
on pillars of eighteen inches long, and projected eight feet be- 
fore the mizen-mast. Round the poop-deck a folding breast- 
work was made of light materials, and of a strength to resist 
grape-shot ; and, as it was made to fold down on the deck, and 
could be raised again in a minute, it was impossible to perceive 
that the America had a poop, at the distance of a quarter of a 
mile. There were only single quarter-galleries, and no stern- 
gallery ; and both the stern and bow were made very strong, so 
that the men at quarters might be every where under a good 
cover. The plan which Captain Jones projected for the sculp- 
ture expressed dignity and simplicity. The head was a female 
figure, crowned with laurels. The right arm was raised, with 
the forefinger pointing to heaven ; as appealing to that high 
tribunal for the justice of the American cause. On the left 
arm was a buckler, with a blue ground and thirteen silver stars. 
The legs and feet of the figure were covered here and there with 
wreaths of smoke, to represent the dangers and difficulties of 
war. On the stern, under the windows of the great cabin, ap- 
peared two large figures in bas-relief; representing Tyranny 
and Oppression, bound and biting the ground, with the cap of 
Liberty on a pole, above their heads. On the back part of the 
starboard quarter-gallery was a large Neptune ; and, on the 
back part of the larboard quarter-gallery, a large Mars. Over 
the windows of the great cabin, on the highest part of the stern, 
was a large medallion, on which was a figure, representing 
Wisdom, surrounded by Danger, with the bird of Athens over 
her head. The America was fifty feet six inches, in the ex- 
treme breadth, and measured a hundred and eighty-two feet 
six inches, on the upper gun-deck. Yet this ship, though the 
largest of seventy-four guns in the world, had, when the lower 
battery was sunk, the air of a delicate frigate ; and no person 

42 



338 PAUL JONES. 

at the distance of a mile, could have imagined she had a second 
battery." 

It would not have been proper to omit this description of a 
fine ship, which must be interesting to those who have skill 
enough to criticise her construction. As for the devices, we 
are somewhat at a loss to know how Danger was represented. 
It could not have been personified, as surrounding Wisdom ; and 
was probably emblematically expressed by flashes of lightning, 
&c. Those who have no technical knowledge whatever, but 
who have read the works of our countryman Cooper, will readily 
recognise in the picture Jones gives of the ship built under his 
direction, the same beau-ideal of combined grace and strength 
after which the vessel commanded by the Red Rover, and that 
navigated by the Pilot, were modelled ; beautiful in their pro- 
portions as Semele, and, like her, delivered in thunder. 

But this fair frigate was not to be commanded by him who 
had watched her construction for more than a year, with the 
hope of " moving the monarch of her peopled deck." At the 
close of the summer of this year, the Magnifique, a seventy-four 
gun ship, belonging to the French squadron under the Marquis 
de Vaudreuil, was lost by accident in the harbour of Boston. 
Policy, and perhaps equity, rendered it expedient for Congress 
to present to France their solitary ship of the line ; and a reso- 
lution to that eff*ect was passed on the 3d of September. Other 
motives may have had their weight, in making this disposition 
of the America ; and they seem to be alluded to in the following 
letter from Mr. Morris, written the day after the resolution was 
adopted. 

" Marine Office, September 4, 1782. 
" Dear Sir, 

" The enclosed resolution will show you the destination of 
the ship America. Nothing could be more pleasing to me than 
this disposition, excepting so far as you are affected by it. I 
know you so well as to be convinced that it must give you great 
pain, and I sincerely sympathize with you. But although you 



PAUL JONES. 339 

will undergo much concern at being deprived of this opportunity 
to reap laurels on your favourite field, yet your regard for 
France will in some measure alleviate it ; and to this your good 
sense will naturally add the delays which must have happened 
in fitting the ship for sea. I must entreat you to continue your 
inspection until she is launched, and to urge forward the busi- 
ness. When that is done, if you will come hither I will explain 
to you the reasons which led to this measure, and my views of 
emj)loying you in the service of your country. You will on your 
route have an opportunity of conferring with the general on the 
blow you mentioned to me in one of your letters;" * * * * 
Jones submitted to his disappointment, for such it must have 
been, without any ebullitions of vexation, or murmurs of discon- 
tent. Tn his journal, he says, that " he was not made ac- 
quainted with the minister's project for employing him, after 
the America should be launched.* And the Act of Congress of 
September 3d, after all the pains he had taken for sixteen 
months to finish that ship, did not even mention his name; 
which notice, it is presumed, might not have been inconsis- 
tent with the dignity of that Act, nor disagreeable to the mo- 
narch who honoured him with particular marks of his attention. 
Captain Jones had had before him no good prospect ; and the 
America was the tenth command of which he had been deprived 
in the course of the Revolution. Had it been possible for him 
to foresee the lingering, disagreeable situation that awaited him 
at Portsmouth, he would have thanked Congress for the honour 
they did him, by unanimously electing him to that command, 
and asked their permission to join the army in Virginia, under 
his friend the Marquis de La Fayette, who, by a letter he wrote 
Captain Jones, December 22d, 1781, [which has been inserted,] 
showed how glad he would have been of that event , and that 
his ideas corresponded with the plan Captain Jones had sug- 



* It must be remembered that a rough original draft is quoted from. It is more 
to be relied upon because it is such. 



340 PAUL JONES. 

gestcd to the court of France, for forming a combined squadron ; 
but which had not been communicated to the Marquis. Cap- 
tain Jones bore his disappointment with firmness, and answered 
the minister's letter, on the 22d of September, in a manner so 
gallant, as produced a flattering answer in a letter of the 9th of 
October." 

The answer was as follows: " I have received your letter of 
the 22d of last month. The sentiments contained in it will 
always reflect the highest honour upon your character- They 
have made so strong an impression upon my mind, that I im- 
mediately transmitted an extract of your letter to Congress. I 
doubt not, but they will view it in the same manner which I 
have done." 

Jones proceeds in his rough notes, to say, that "he urged 
forward the business of launching the America, with his utmost 
energy. The difficulties were great. The ship was built on a 
very small island, situated in the river opposite the town of 
Portsmouth, belonging to the agent for supplying the materials. 
Between the stern and the opposite shore, which was a continual 
rock, the distance was no more than a hundred fathoms. From 
a few feet above the stern, a ledge of rocks projected two thirds 
of the distance across the river, making only an angle of twenty 
degrees with the keel. And, from a small bay on the opposite 
shore, the tide of flood continued to run with rapidity, directly 
over this ledge, for more than an hour after it was high water 
by the shore. It was necessary to launch exactly at high water, 
and to give the ship such a motion, as would make her pass 
round the point of the ledge of rocks, without touching the op- 
posite shore ; which, it is easy to perceive, was a difficult mat- 
ter. It was impossible to fix stoccades in the river, on account 
of the current and the rocks. This defect could only be supplied 
by anchors and cables. A large anchor was fixed in the ground, 
under the bow, from which depended cables of a proper length 
and ranged in a manner so as to be drawn gently after the ship, 
when put in motion, and with various slight stoppers at proper 
distances, to break one after another, so as to diminish her 



PAUL JONES. 341 

velocity by degrees. When every thing w^as prepared, Captain 
Jones stood on the highest part of the brow, or gangway that 
ascended from the ground to the bow of the ship. From that 
[)osition he could perfectly see the motion of the ship ; and de- 
termine by a signal the instant when it was proper to let go one 
or both of the anchors that were hung at the bows, and slip the 
end of the cable that depended on the anchor, fixed in the ground 
on the island. The operation succeeded perfectly to his wish, 
and to the admiration of a large assembly of spectators." Thus 
was the America launched ; and well might Jones have recited 
the "«e'c vos non vohis,''^ as she went into the water. It is for 
those who are scientific, and know the localities, to judge criti- 
cally of the fitness of the means adopted to introduce her into the 
element over which she was to bear the flag of France. Jones 
commends highly the perseverance and ingenuity of the master 
builder. Major Hackett, who had never seen a ship of the line 
when he drew her plan ; and who had no more than twenty 
carpenters at work, at any time, while her construction was in 
progress. He says, " the workmanship was far superior to any 
before seen in naval architecture ; and it would only have been 
necessary that the Abbe Reynal should have seen the America, 
to have induced him to give the world a very different idea of 
the continent, of which that elegant ship bore the name." 

The flags of the two allies were displayed on the poop at the 
launch ; and Jones, having caused the ship to be safely moored, 
delivered her on the same day, November 5th, to the Chevalier 
de Martigne, who had commanded the Magnifique. He set 
out for Philadelphia on the next morning, and there learned 
"that unforeseen circumstances had defeated the project for 
employing him on a secret expedition." When La Fayette 
requested him " not to write often in ciphers," he expressed a 
wish in which every one, whose business or pleasure it is to 
make out his history, will cordially sympathize. The Chevalier 
himself, however, explains in the same document we have been 
quoting from, what this secret expedition was. He says, that 
when he " determined to return to America, to submit his con- 



342 PAUL JONES. 

duct to the judgment of Congress," with the hope of command- . 
ing a combined squadron by which he might annoy the enemy, 
" as the Indien was not thought necessary to assist in effecting 
the scheme, the king lent her for three years to the Chevaher 
de Luxembourg ; and that nobleman contracted with Commo- 
dore Gillan, in the service of the State of South Carolina to 
command that ship," the prince having his share of the profits 
arising from the sale of prizes. When the Indien sailed, which 
was not until long after Jones left the Texel, it was under the 
name of the South Carolina. She took some merchantmen 
and carried them to Havana ; and thence, on her way to 
Philadelphia, joined the convoy destined against New Provi- 
dence, which surrendered immediately to the Spanish arms. 
She arrived in Philadelphia in a condition which rendered great 
repairs necessary. It was Mr. Morris' intention, according to 
Jones, to give him the command of this vessel, the time for 
which she had been chartered having nearly expired; the terms 
of the charter being, that she should, at its expiration be deliver- 
ed in good order, in a port of France, and Chevalier de la Lu- 
zerne on behalf of the king of France " yielding his most ready 
concurrence. It was their intention to join the Gaudaloupe 
frigate and some other force, and put the whole under the orders 
of Captain Jones." Colonel Laurens " had made large ad- 
vances to Commodore Gillan in Holland, on account of the 
United States, on condition that he would transport a quantity 
of clothing to America, for the army under General Washing- 
ton. No account had been rendered to the Chevalier de Lux- 
embourg of prize money, &.c. and he had sent powers to the 
Chevalier de la Luzerne" to insist upon his rights. Mr. Morris 
on behalf of the United States, and the French ambassador on 
behalf of the prince, thus severally urged demands against 
Commodore Gillan, who, far from being able to meet them, if 
they were well founded, " found infinite difficulty in procuring 
the necessary funds for repairs." The two ministers had there- 
fore, " concluded that the State of South Carolina, and even 
Commodore Gillan himself, would easily consent to resign all 



PAUL JONES. 343 

further pretension to the frigate in question. * * * * They were, 
however, mistaken, and Commodore Gillan out-generalled them 
both. When they found he had got the ship below the che- 
vaux de frise with her cannon on board, and that he was arrested 
by the sheriff for a large sum, &-c." Jones proceeds to state mat- 
ters of rumour. The commodore, however, after remaining 
several days on board, proceeded homeward by land, and the 
South Carolina made sail and was captured. She was an 
unlucky vessel, and the merchant who built her in Holland, was 
nearly, if not quite, ruined by the contract. 

Jones wrote to the minister of marine on the 29th November, 
" requesting that unless Congress had some service of greater 
consequence for him, he might be ordered back to Boston, to 
embark as a volunteer in pursuit of military marine knowledge 
with his excellency the Marquis de Vaudreuil, in order to enable 
him the better to serve his country, when America should in- 
crease her navy." On the same day, Mr. Morris sent to the 
president of Congress a copy of that letter with the following 
remarks : " The present state of our affairs does not permit 
me to employ that valuable officer, and I confess that it is with 
no small degree of concern that I consider the little probability 
of rendering his talents useful to that country, which he has 
already so faithfully served, and with so great disinterestedness. 

" His present desire to be sent with the Marquis de Vau- 
drueil to join Count d'Estaing on his projected expedition from 
Cadiz against Jamaica, Sec. consists with all his former con- 
duct ; and it will, I dare say, be a very pleasing reflection to 
Congress, that he is about to pursue a knowledge of his pro- 
fession, so as to become still more useful if ever he should be 
again called to the command of a squadron or fleet. I should 
do injustice to my own feelings, as well as to my country, if I 
did not most warmly recommend this gentleman to the notice 
of Congress, whose favour he has certainly merited by the most 
signal services and sacrifices." 

Congress granted the request thus made ; and resolved, "that 
the agent of marine be informed that Congress having a high 



344 PAUL JONES. 

sense of the merit and services of Captain J. P. Jones, and 
being disposed to favour the zeal manifested by him to acquire 
improvement in the Une of his profession, do grant the permis- 
sion which he requests, and that the said agent be instructed to 
recommend him accordingly to the countenance of his excel- 
lency the Marquis de Vaudrueil." 

Jones immediately repaired to Boston, with letters for the 
Marquis de Vaudreuil, from Mr. Morris and the Chevalier de 
Luzerne. He was received on board of the Triomphante, the 
Marquis' own ship, with every mark of attention. That ves- 
sel was very much crowded by the army of the Count de 
Rochambeau, then embarked under the orders of the Baron de 
Viomenil. Sixty officers were at table every day. Jones is 
particular in recording, that the Baron and the Marquis de 
Laval were lodged in the larboard side of the round-house ; and 
that the starboard side was assigned to him. The squadron, 
consisting often sail of the line, sailed on the 24th of December, 
and gave convoy to several French transports and twenty sail 
of merchantmen. " It wa« the intention of the admiral to go 
off Portsmouth, to join his brother the Count de Vaudreuil, who 
had in that port under his orders, the Auguste of 80 guns, and 
the Pluton of 74. Wind and weather prevented the junction, 
and the ships of war were forced into a disagreeable situation in 
the Bay of Fundy, besides separating from the convoy. Event- 
ually the squadron steered to the southward, and continued for 
ten days off the harbour of St. Johns, in Porto Rico, performing 
various naval evolutions. At making the land, the admiral had 
advice that Admiral Hood, with sixteen ships of the line, was 
cruising off Cape Francois ; and that Admiral Pigot, with a 
greater force, lay at St. Lucca. So that the enemy imagined 
the force under the Marquis de Vaudreuil must necessarily fall 
a prey either to Hood or Pigot. The marquis took sij^teen sail 
of transports with provisions and stores, out of a large convoy 
then arrived from France at St. John's, and bore away 
round the west end of Porto Rico. Some of Admiral Hood's 
look-out vessels got sight of the squadron in the Mona passage. 



PAUL JONES. 345 

and set out immediately to give information that the marquis 
was proceeding down the south side of Hispaniola. They were 
mistaken. The squadron steei'ed to the southward, by the wind, 
and made the island of Cura^oa to windward. The rendezvous 
that had been fixed on between Don Solano, the Spanish ad- 
miral, and the Marquis de Vaudreuil, at Cape Francois, after 
the defeat of the Compte de Grasse, was kept a profound secret, 
and no person had an idea of the intended port. The squadron 
beat to windward for many days, along the coast of South 
America, without either pilots or good charts. All the trans- 
ports were driven to leeward by the current, and lost sight of 
the ships of war. In the night, the Burgoyne of 74 guns ran 
on a rock two leagues from the shore, and was totally lost, with 
two hundred of her officers and men, among whom was the first 
lieutenant. On the 18th February, 1783, the Triomphante got 
safe into the road of Porto Cabello, where the Auguste and 
Pluton had arrived a few days before. The remainder of the 
squadrdn soon after arrived safe. The transports, not being 
able to gain Porto Cabello, bore away for St. Domingo. Don 
Solano had promised to meet the marquis at Porto Cabello in 
December, but did not keep his word. He was superseded and 
ordered home from the Havana to Spain. It was also at Porto 
Cabello, that the combined force of France and Spain from 
Cadiz, under Count d'Estaing, was to join them under Vau- 
dreuil and Solano. As neither of these junctions took place, 
and no news arrived of the reasons of the detention, it was most 
disagreeable to be kept in inaction, in a place in itself highly 
unpleasant." Jones found it especially so. He had ho{)ed 
" to see war both by sea and land, on a great scale, and to learn 
at the first military school in the world. Count d'Estaing 
would have found under his command, in the West Indies, 
upwards of seventy ships of the line, which, with the great 
combined land army that was prepared, would infallibly have 
taken Jamaica, and beaten the British sea force in that part of 
the world. Captain Jones, as he had known Jamaica, flattered 
himself with the expectation of having a place near that gallant 

43 



346 PAUL JONES. 

officer, and that he would have been honoured with a share of 
his confidence. After much vain expectation and disappoint- 
ment, several of the officers, and Captain Jones among others, 
fell sick and were dangerously ill. At last the news of general 
Peace arrived, by a frigate from France and Martinico. The 
most splendid success, and the most improving experience in 
war, could not have affi)i-ded Captain Jones a pleasure any way 
to be compared to what he felt on learning that Great Britain 
had, after so long a struggle, been forced formally to acknow- 
ledge the sovereignty, freedom, and independence of the United 
States of America." He did not write thus for effect. He felt 
as he wrote, though at a subsequent period, as he had felt at the 
time. He wrote from Porto Cabello, to the Countess de Laven- 
dahl, among his enclosures to the care of M. de Genet. French 
ladies meddle with politics ; which Buonaparte thought a 
nuisance, though he made use of the custom for his own ad- 
vancement. Jones did so too ; and though, in his simplicity 
and imaginativeness, he seems to have put himself at one time, as 
has been remarked, under thenecessity of making a tack in his 
correspondence with the one referred to, he certainly seemed to 
think that he had manoeuvred himself completely out of the dif- 
ficulty into which this small mistake had thrown him. In his 
letter to the countess, on the 28th February, he assures her that 
" his principles are invariably the same." He had learned by 
a letter from M. de Genet, that, the lady supposed he had not 
pursued with constant zeal the projects he contemplated exe- 
cuting in France, and with which, all secret as they were, and 
though M. de Chaumont had given him such an awful warning, 
by his communicativeness not to divulge them, he had made 
the fair lady acquainted. He said, •' I hope to return to France, 
and am persuaded you will rather feel compassion for my dis- 
appointment, than withdraw from me any part of your esteem." 
The letter was polite and politic. In his epistle to M. de Genet, 
he returns his respectful compliments to Miss Edes. That 
lady could not, therefore, have been accessary to the newspa- 
per reports in London, of the chevalier's movements at court in 



4 

PAUL JONES. 347 

1779 ; and they were all, probably, *' such stuff as dreams arc 
made of." At the same time, under cover to M. de Genet, he 
transmitted a letter to the Marquis de Castries, to be submitted 
to the inspection of the fair countess, giving an account of his 
position, and in good set terms, requesting to be held in re- 
membrance by his most christian majesty. 

He also wrote to the Due de la Rochefoucault, from Porto 
Cabello, on the 27th February, giving an account of the circum- 
stances which had placed him in the squadron. This letter 
contains the following remarks : " The English affairs seem in 
so bad a situation in the East Indies, that I think even the 
most sanguine among them can expect no manner of advantage 
for continuing the war ; for, as Spain has at last wisely aban- 
doned the siege of Gibraltar, and, as we are told, doubled her 
ships with copper, 1 cannot think the English so blind as not to 
see the great risk they run of being as effectually humbled by 
sea, as they are by land, should thoy neglect the present mo- 
ment to make their peace. * * * * I most ardently wish for 
peace ; for, humanity tells me there has been too much blood 
spilt already. I am in hopes to have the happiness, soon after 
the war, to revisit France." 

On the same day of the month, he wrote to Mr. Morris, giv- 
ing an account of the operations of the squadron, and making 
remarks on the prospect of peace to the same effect as those 
above quoted. He says : "I have already received much 
useful information since I embarked, and am on such happy 
terms with the admiral and officers, both of the fleet and army, 
that I have nothing to wish from them. Deeply sensible how 
highly favoured I am, in being thus placed, I beg you to express 
my gratitude to Congress on the occasion, and to the Chevalier 
de Luzerne. The Marquis de Vaudreuil is promoted to the 
rank of lieutenant general, and now carries a vice admiral's 
flag. There are many other promotions in the squadron." 
On the 15th March, writing to La Fayette, he expressed him- 
self in like terms to those in his letter to the Due de la Roche- 
foucault, in relation to his losing the command of the America, 



348 PAUL JONES. 

and the attention paid to him on board of the Trioraphante, and 
by the officers of the whole fleet. He adds : " I am really 
happy to hear that justice has been rendered by his majesty to 
such distinguished worth and exertion as yours. No less indeed 
could be expected from such a prince to such a subject. We 
hear you are at Cadiz, in order to embark with his excellency 
Count D'Estaing. This would afford me the greatest pleasure, 
did not my love of glory give place to my more ardent wish for 
jveace, and that, you might have the happiness to carry over the 
olive branch, to a country that already owes you so much grati- 
tude. Humanity has need of peace ; but, though I was led to 
expect it from the late speech (from the throne,) I begin to fear 
it is yet at some distance. There seems to be a malignity in 
the English blood, which cannot be cured till, in meixy to the 
rest of mankind, it is let out, that the disease may not become 
epidemical. I pray you to present my most respectful compli- 
ments to the Count D'Estaing. If the war continues, I hope 
for the honour of making the campaign under his orders." 

The country where he had been stigmatized as a pirate and 
traitor, could not expect complimentary language from the 
chevalier. Yet in the excitement of the moment, he said 
more than he meant to imply. The blood of old England is 
good enough — there is none better. But humbled national 
pride is not soon silent under its mortification ; and half a 
century after this period we find it expressing itself through 
the tongues and pens of hirelings and vagabonds, in unmeaning 
sneers at institutions not understood, and manners and customs 
misrepresented. 

Did Jones long for peace or war ? Did his inclination point 
to that fair France, where the plaudits of a brilliant court, the 
notice of royalty, the friendship of nobles, and the presentation 
of the sword and star, had made him so happy ? Or to the land 
for which he had fought, and which was too poor to give him 
the command of a ship of the line ? He did not know himself. 
On the 16th of March, he thus wrote to John Ross, Esq. in the 
United States. " I had, my dear friend, the honour to write to 



PAUL JONES. 349 

you from on board this ship, while sailing out of the harbour of 
Boston, the 24th December. I mentioned to you in that letter 
my wish respecting the purchase of a confiscated estate, situ- 
ated between two navigable rivers, a little above Newark, within 
eight or ten miles of New York, and formerly owned by one 
Edwards,* who has been killed. I was told it contains a large 
tract of excellent land, which was valued before the revolution, 
at ,£8,000, but would be sold for a fourth part of that sura. As 
New York will probably be one of our first naval ports, the prox- 
imity of that estate made me the more desirous to own it. If, 
therefore, you should find on inquiry that I have been rightly 
informed, and if you can turn the merchandise in your hand into 
money, to answer for the purchase, I pray you to act for me as 
you would for yourself on the occasion. We have as yet no 
certain news from Europe, &c. If the peace should, as I wish 
it may, be concluded, I wish to establish myself on a place I can 
call my own, and to offer my hand to some fair daughter of 
liberty. If, on the contrary, Count D'Estaing should come out 
with fifty sail of the line, copper sheathed, and 18,000 troops, I 
shall have instructions at the greatest military school in the 
world, and I can have no doubt of finding opportunity of effect- 
ing the business we talked over at parting. Mr. Morris, I am 
assured, will not in that case let slip the occasion; and I am 
well persuaded, you will also take the necessary steps." We 
will take the chevalier's word, that he had no existing attachment 
or liaison in France, which prevented his offering himself to 
" some fair daughter of liberty." 

The news of peace arrived, as has been mentioned, and the 
squadron sailed from Porto Cabello on the 8th of April, the day 
after the cessation of hostilities. After a passage of eight days, 
it arrived at Cape Frangois, where the Spanish fleet had arrived 
a few days before. Jones received " particular marks of atten- 
tion from the governor, M. de Bellecombe, as well as from Don 



" A mistake." — Notein the margin, in his own handwriting. 



350 PAUL JONES. 

Galvez and the Spanish admiral. He embraced the first oppor- 
tunity of a vessel bound for America, and arrived at Philadel- 
phia on the 18th of May. The letters of which he was the 
bearer to the different functionaries at home, were such as must 
have been most gratifying to him. The Marquis de Vaudreuil 
in writing to the Chevalier de Luzerne, thus expressed himself: 
*' M. Paul Jones, who embarked with me, returns to his beloved 
country. I was very glad to have him. His well deserved 
reputation caused me to accept his company with nuich plea- 
sure ; and I had no doubt that we should meet with some occa- 
sions in which his talents might be displayed. But peace, for 
which I cannot but rejoice, interposes an obstacle which renders 
our separation necessary. Permit me, sir, to pray you to recom- 
mend him to his chiefs. The particular acquaintance I have 
formed with him, since he has been on board of the Triomphante 
makes me take a lively interest in his fortunes ; and I shall feel 
much obliged, if you can find means of doing him services." 
The Baron de Viomenil, connnander of the land army on board 
of the squadron, wrote as follows to the ambassador. 

'« M. Paul Jones, who will have the honour of delivering to 
you, sir, this letter, has for five months deported himself among 
us with such wisdom and modesty as add infinitely to the repu- 
tation gained by his courage and exploits. I have reason to 
believe that he has preserved as much the feeling of gratitude 
and attachment towards France, as of patriotism and devotion 
to the cause of America. Such being his titles to attention, I 
take the liberty of recommending to you his interests, near the 
president and Congress." The admiral wrote directly to Mr. 
Morris, to the same effect, expressing his desire for the pros- 
perity of "ce hrave et honiiete Jiomm^.^^ 

The ill health which Jones speaks of, continued when he 
arrived at Philadelphia. He suffered from a violent intermit- 
ting fever, and spent the summer at Bethlehem, where he had 
the benefit of the cold bath. The idea of hving on a fine farm 
in New Jersey, near a city whose future growth and commer- 
cial prosperity he shrewdly foresaw, with some fair " daughter 



PAUL JONES. 351 

of liberty" as the matron head of the estabhshment, *' in calm 
contemplation and poetic ease," must, no doubt, have been a 
vision which floated gratefully before his mind during moments 
of languor and uncertainty at Porto Cabello. It faded into thin 
air. He could not realize the amounts due to him from various 
quarters. Mr. Barclay, the consul general of France, had ob- 
tained no settlement of the prize money remaining due to the 
officers and crews of the squadron he last commanded, in which 
he was so considerably interested. On his application. Con- 
gress passed an Act on the 1st November, appointing him agent 
for all prizes, taken in Europe under his own command. * * * * 
He lodged bonds with the minister of finance, to the amount of 
$200,000, to transmit to the continental treasury all the money 
he should recover, belonging to the citizens of America, who 
had served under his command in Europe ; to be from thence 
paid to them individually by the minister. He chose to put the 
business on that footing, to prevent the possibility of any re- 
proach.* He sailed the 10th of November from Philadelphia, 
in the Washington packet, for France ; and after a passage of 
twenty days, landed at Plymouth in England ; the packet having 
put in there, as the wind was unfavourable for Havre de Grace, 
the port of her destination. Having the public despatches in 
his charge, he set out immediately in a post chaise ; and find- 
ing Mr. Adams, minister plenipotentiary for Holland, at London, 
who was persuaded that the packets for Dr. Franklin contained 
a commission to conclude a treaty of commerce with England, 
he proceeded with such haste, that he was only five days on the 
road from Plymouth to Paris. He travelled at his own expense. 
The Marechal de Castries and the Count de Vergennes 
received him cordially. By the former he was introduced to 



* He means, that he preferred that the money should pass to individuals through 
the minister's hands. The resolution of Congress required that bonds should be given ; 
and it appears, that Jones had no difficulty in obtaining sufficient security for so large 
an amount. 



352 PAUL iJONES. 

the king on the 20th December. The letters of the Chevaher 
de Luzerne to those ministers were in the same strain of com- 
mendation and personal expression of regard, (plainly, not merely 
diplomatic language,) as those he had borne from the com- 
manders in the squadron at Porto Cabello. "They both as- 
sured him," he says, '* that he had no need of letters, to dispose 
them to esteem his character and do him justice. After dinner, 
the Marechal took Captain Jones aside, and told him, from the 
king, that it would always give his majesty pleasure to be use- 
ful to his future fortune." On the 17th of December, Dr. 
Franklin formally recognised his authority as agent to solicit 
for payment and satisfaction to the officers and crews, <fcc. in 
whose hands soever the prize money might be detained." 

He set about this negociation with his whole soul, and succeed- 
ed, after two years, in obtaining a liquidation and payment of 
the demand. It would be tedious, were it necessary and were 
there room for it, to insert the correspondence, which relates to 
this matter, and it is imperfect. Jones claimed the proportion of 
prize money due to the Bon Homme Richard and Alliance, to 
be divided aft-erwards by the superintendent of finances in 
America, agreeably to the rules of her navy. That proportion, 
he assumed, was to be ascertained by multiplying the number 
of the crew by the sum of the calibre of the cannon, mounted 
on board of each ship. In writing to the Marechal de Castries, 
M. de Sartine's successor, he repeated minutely the story of 
his projects and his doings; and renewed all his complaints 
against the conduct of M. de Chaumont. This was impolitic, 
and certainly did not expedite the settlement of the affair he 
had in charge. The following was, however, his creed on the 
subject, which is inserted without other comment, than that 
the captors should have taken legal advice : " Whether M. le 
Ray de Chaumont is indebted to the government, or the govern- 
ment is, as he says, indebted to him, is a matter that ought not 
to regard the captors, but they have a right to claim the pro- 
tection of government to force M. le Ray de Chaumont to ren- 
der the money with interest, which he has unjustly detained 



PAUL JONES. 353 

from them for four years and a half, while many of them are 
perishing with cold and hunger." 

An account was made out, pursuant to the minister's direction, 
by M. Chandon, on the papers submitted by M. de Chaumont. 
The Concordat had settled that "the division of prizes should 
be made agreeably to the American laws ; but that the propor- 
tion of the whole, coming to each vessel in the squadron, should 
be regulated by the minister of the marine department of France 
and the minister plenipotentiary of the United States of Ame- 
rica." It would seem that in this account the French laws 
were referred to, in adjusting such proportion. The law of 
Congress gave the captors the whole value of all ships and ves- 
sels of war belonging to the crown of Great Britain, and half 
the value of merchantmen, <fcc. Charges were made in the 
account, for repairs done at the Texel, and the expenses of the 
detention of the prizes there ; and also of four deniers on the 
livre, on account of the Hospital of Invalids at Paris, from which 
institution American seamen had received no benefit. Dr. 
Franklin had not interfered in relation to the distribution of this 
prize money. He acted with his uniform wisdom, as there was 
no obligation upon him to express his opinions. Jones who was 
now, as to this matter, minister plenipotentiary himself, warmly 
and with no mean skill, as well as fervour, objected to this man- 
ner of adjusting the account, and to these deductions. The 
claim of the four deniers was readily relinquished by the minis- 
ter. That for expenses in the Texel was made the subject 
of more argument, which was managed by Jones with much 
ingenuity, and as much passion. Franklin wrote to him that 
if he had been willing to act himself in the matter, he '' certainly 
would not have agreed to charge the American captors with 
any part of the expense of maintaining the 500 prisoners in 
Holland, till they could be exchanged, when none of them were 
exchanged for the Americans in England, as was Jones' inten- 
tion, and as they both had been made to expect." Enclosing a 
copy of this letter to the minister, Jones said : " I will not now 
complain that the prisoners which I took, and carried to Hol- 

44 



354 PAUL JONES. 

land were not exchanged for the Americans who had been taken 
in war upon the ocean, and were long confined in English dun- 
geons by civil magistrates, as traitors, pirates, and f elans ; I 
will only say, I had such a promise from the minister of marine. 
It was all the reward I asked for the anxious days and sleep- 
less nights I passed, and the many dangers I encountered, in 
glad hope of giving them all their liberty, and if I had not 
been assured that Mr. Franklin had made an infallible ar- 
rangement with the courts of France and England for their 
immediate redemption, nothing but a superior force should have 
wrested them out of my hands, till they had been actually ex- 
changed for the unhappy Americans in England." 

On the 13th of May the minister informed Jones that on the 
statement he had laid before his majesty, this item of deduction 
was also ordered to be relinquished ; and that the indisposition of 
M. Chandon alone had prevented the amount to be allowed from 
being stated, which he would take the earliest measures for pay- 
ing. Here was an immediate prospect of a summary attainment 
of the object of his mission. With characteristic rapidity, Jones 
replied : " I hope M. Chandon will immediately finish that liqui- 
dation ; and, considering that nearly five years have already 
elapsed since the prizes were made, and that my long delay 
here is very inconvenient to my aflfairs, I flatter myself that you 
will take measures for the payment as soon as possible. On 
my arrival at Paris, I had the honour to present a letter from 
the Chevalier de la Luzerne, mentioning that part of my busi- 
ness in Europe is to collect materials for forming a system for 
the future marine of America. You had, my lord, the good 
ness to promise me copies of every thing respecting the govern- 
ment and manner of supplying the marine of France : and 
1 should esteem it a great favour, if you would now give your 
orders in consequence."* 



* On the 20th of January preceding, Colonel Wadsworth had addressed Jones 
under a copy of the following inemorandnm. " Colonel Hamilton requests Colond 



PAUL JONES. 355 

It was in September of the year 1784, that the plate taken 
from Lord Selkirk's house on St. Mary's Island was sent home. 
The letter of M. de Calonne, granting permission for its trans- 
portation froniL'Orient to Calais free from all duties, &c. was 
highly complimentary. " This action, sir," said the minister, 
" is well worthy of the reputation your conduct has acquired for 
you ; and proves that true valour is always in close union with 
humanity and generosity." The bill rendered to Jones for 
transporting this plate, by the " director of the diligences of 
Flanders, Picardy, and England," is among the papers before 
me. The amount was 127 livres, 17 sols. 

On the 23d of October, it appears that a " statement of the 
liquidation and repartition of the prizes," was signed by the 
Marechal de Castries, in which Jones urged that there was an 
error in the proportion assigned to the Vengeance. This was 
probably not rectified. And the money was not forthcoming 
immediately. In June, in the following year, we find Jones 
jogging the memory of the minister, as to his promise of taking . 
prompt measures for payment. It was then intimated that 
security should be given for the due application of the fund. 
Jones referred to his credentials, and to the documents which 
showed that he had given ample security to the government of 



VVadswortli as often as convenient to make inquiries, and take minutes of the circum- 
stances relating to the navigation of difterent nations; the construction and quality of 
their ships, with respect to bulk, duration, and expedition ; the expense of construe 
tion, materials, and equipment; the number of men with which they are navigated; 
the wages to the seamen, subsistence, &c. so as to form a general idea of the com 
parative advantages for navigation between this and other countries." Colonel Wads 
worth said in his letter: " I have sent this to you, as the best able to make inquiries, 
and pray you to write him on the several articles of this request, as I know nobody in 
America so likely to make a good use of them. I do not despair of seeing an American 
navy ; and my hopes will increase, when I see such men as Hamilton at the head of 
our naval affairs in America ; which may possibly not be far distant. I will not 
apologize for giving you this trouble. You have so eminently distinguished yourself 
as a naval officer, and so warmly and unremittingly pursued the true interest of America, 
that I am certain I can commit these inquiries to no one, so able and so willing to 
make them. 



356 PAUL JONES. 

the United States, and thus concluded his letter : " As particu- 
lar reasons render it extremely inconvenient, if not impossible, 
for me to attend this business any longer, I shall take the liberty 
to wait on your excellency to-morrow, to be favoured with your 
final determination." 

It is to be presumed that this difficulty was removed at 
once.: but now another arose. Jones was desired by the 
minister to address himself to the ordinateur at L'Orient for 
payment of the money. He did not like this reference and an- 
ticipated difficulties in his settlement with this functionary. He 
asked for orders, that the money due the two ships, the Bon 
Homme and the Alliance, might be paid immediately into his 
hands en masse. 

The expected difficulties with the ordinateur occured. Mr. 
Jefferson had now succeeded the venerable Franklin as minister 
plenipotentiary at Versailles. On the 29th of July, in this year, 
(1785,) Jones says, in addressing him : " I find that a French 
merchant, M. Puchilberg, of this place, who opposed Dr. Frank- 
lin, and did all in his power to promote the revolt that toolt 
place in the Alhance, has produced a letter of attorney which 
he obtained from the officers and men of that frigate when 
their minds were unsettled, authorizing him to receive their 
share in the prizes. And notwithstanding the orders of the 
Marechal of the J 5th, I find there is a disposition here to pay 
the money to M. Puchilberg, in preference to me." 

Theinteference of M. Puchilberg was as peculiarly offensive to 
Jones, as it was in his opinion unsafe, because he had given no 
security to the American government for the due disbursement 
of the money ; had not any " authentic roll of the crew of the 
Alliance ; and could not do justice to the subjects of America. 
Jones was willing that the proportion due the French marines, 
who embarked as volunteers, should be deducted from the 
amount to be paid to him. In another passage of his letter he 
says, that one of the objections made at L'Orient, to the pay- 
ment to him of the whole amount was, that Landais was born 
in France. " But he had abjured the Church of Rome, and been 



PAUL JOJVES. 357 

naturalized in America (as bis officers reported to me) before 
he took command of the Alhance ; and his crew were all the 
subjects of the United States." The naturalization was implied 
in his bearing his commission. His abjuration is doubtful ; as 
he sleeps in ground consecrated according to the ritual of the 
Church of Rome. This by the way. Vexed and restless at this 
new obstacle, we find Jones two days afterwards repeating to 
Mr. Jefterson, the same argument against the propriety of M. 
Puchilberg's intervention. But he had other matters to speak 
of ; and this part of his letter must be introduced. 

" The enclosed copy of a letter, which has just now been 
communicated to me, from Monsieur de Soulanges, a M. M. les 
Juges Consals, dated at Toulon, the 14th day of this month, 
announcing that the Algerines have declared war against the 
United States, is of too serious a nature not to be sent imme- 
diately to you. 

" This event may, I believe, surprise some of our fellow-citi- 
zens ; but, for my part, I am rather surprised that it did not 
take place sooner. It will produce a good effect, if it unites the 
j)eople of America in measures consistent with their national 
honour and interest, and rouses them from that ill-judged 
security which the intoxication of success has produced since 
the revolution. 

" My best wishes will always attend that land of freedom, 
and my pride will be always gratified when such measures are 
adopted as will make us respected as a great people who deserve 
to be free."- 

The prudent advice of Mr. Jefferson was in the same spirit 
with that which Franklin would have given. M. Puchilberg, (it 
is believed that he had no de to his name, though he may have 
been entitled to it,) was got rid of. Jones considered himself 
as a quasi ambassador in this matter. He certainly did not 
address the minister in the regulated phraseology of diplomacy ; 
and sometimes took the liberty of throwing his own words back 
into his teeth, which was not genteel. But, like the woman in 
the parable, he gained his point by importunity. It would re- 



358 PAUL JONES. 

joice the souls of many claimants at the present day, of an 
infinitely greater amount from the same court, if the same re- 
sult could be effected ; and they would not feel their satisfaction 
diminished to a vast extent, if it were even obtained by a like 
departure from conventional language. Something more 
than 181,000 livres was paid to Jones eventually.* He 
charged no commission on the amount he received. He 
charged, however, 48,000 livres for his expenses. He was au- 
thorized by Congress to act as agent in the business, on the 1st 
November, 1783 ; he charges only from the time of his arrival 
in Europe, which was the 5th December, 1783, up to the 7th 
July, 1786. 

The king remitted the proportion (one half) of the sale of 
the merchant prizes, to which, by the American laws, the govern- 
ment was entitled, in favour of the captors. The balance of 
112,000 livres was paid over by Jones to Mr. Jefferson. 

The statement of his expenses for these two years shows, 
that he must have lived handsomely. He renewed his former 



* 1 find among the papers before me a draft from the boardof treasury, dated May 
9th, 1786, for 181,039 livres 1 sol and 10 deniers, in favour of Mr. Jefferson, expressed to 
be for "moneys received by you from the treasury of the marine of the port of L'Orient, 
on account of prize money due to the frigate Allifince, and the American officers and 
sailors employed under your command, conformably to your two receipts of the 18th 
August, and 5th September, 1785, transmitted to the department of foreign affairs, for 
which payment this shall be your sufficient voucher." On the back, is Mr. Jefferson'.s 
receipt, as follows : " Received from Commodore Paul Jones, one hundred and 
twelve thousand one hundred and seventy two livres, two sols, and foiir deniers, paid 
by him to Mr. Grand, as the balaace of the sum mentioned in the annexed bill of the 
treasury, according to Commodore Jones' account, to be submitted to Congress. Paris, 
I2th July, 1786. Th. Jefferson." Jones' account was as follows: endoreed thus in 
Mr. Jefferson's handwriting : '' Paris, in the kingdom of France, to wit : The within 
named John Paul Jones made oath before me on the holy evangelists, that his ordinary 
expenses, since his arrival in Europe, for the purpose of recovering the prize money, 
as within stated, have amounted to forty seven tliousimd nine hundred and seventy- 
two livres, eleven sous tournois. Given under my hand the fifth day of August, 1786. 
Th. Jefferson." 

" Amount of prize money belonging to the American part of the crew of the Bon 
Homme Richard, (and to some few foreigners, whose names and qualities, &c. lire 



PAUL JONES. 359 

connexions and acquaintances, and kept himself in the pubHc 
eye. He prepared a journal of his past services in the cause of 
America and her ally, which was read by several persons of dis- 
tinction ; and of which there appears to have been more than 
one copy circulated. Fragments of one version are found writ- 
ten in the first person. The entire narrative, up to the period 
of his visiting France on this occasion, which has been so fre- 
quently quoted from, is more classically drawn up in the third. 
Of that intended for his majesty, Malesherbs thus wrote to him. 



inserted in the roll,) with the amount, also, of the prize money belonging to the crew 

of the Alliance ; received at L'Orient, by order of the Marfechal de Castries, in bills 

on Paris. 

Litres. S. D. 

181,039 01 10 
From which deduct, viz. 

Nett amount of my ordinary expenses since I arrived 
in Europe to settle the prize money belonging to the 
citizens and subjects of America, who served on board 
the squadron I commanded, under the flag of the Uni- 
ted States, at the expense of his most christian ma- 
jesty, stated to his excellency Thomas Jefferson, Esq. 
the 4th of this month, 47,972 11 

Paid the draft of M. le Jeune, for the amount of 
prize money due to Jacque Tual, pilot of the Alliance, 670 13 6 

Amount of prize money paid M. de Blondel, lieu- 
tenant of marines of the Pallas, as stated on the roll of 
the Bon Homme Richard. 283 00 

Advances made to sundry persons, which stand at 
my credit on the roll of the Bon Homme Richard, 264 09 6 

Advances made by me to sundry persons belonging 
to the Bon Homme Richard : these advances do not 
stand at my credit on the roll settled at L'Orient, by 
M. le Jeune. because the commissary had neglected 
to send him the original roll from the bureau at Ver- 
sailles, but the commissary has rectified that omission, 
by his certificates, dated September 5th, 1785, and 
F4)ruarx 22d, 1786. 6,385 00 

My share, by the roll, as captain of the Bon Homme 
Richard, 13,291 5 



Pan$, My 7, 1786. 



68,866 19 6 



112,172 2 4 



Paul Jone*. 



360 PAUL JONES. 

" I have received with much gratitude the mark of confidence 
which you have given me, and I have read with great eagerness 
and pleasure that interesting relation. 

" My first impression was to desire you to have it published, 
but after having read it, I perceive that you had not written it 
with a view to publication, because there are things in it which 
are written to the king, for whom alone that work was intended. 
However, actions memorable as yours are, ought to be made 
known to the world by an authentic journal published in your 
own name. 

" I earnestly entreat you to work at it as soon as your affiairs 
will allow you ; and in the mean time, I hope that the king will 
read this work with that attention which he owes to the relation 
of the services, which have been rendered to him by a person 
so celebrated." 

At this time he also rendered a material service to the myste- 



On transmitting his statement of the account to Mr. Jefferson, Jones wrote a« 
follows : 

" I have the honour to enclose and submit to your consideration, the account I have 
stated of the prize money in my hands, with sundry papers that regard the charges. I 
cannot bring myself to lessen the dividend of the American captors by making any 
charge either for my time or trouble. I lament that it has not yet been in my power 
to procure for them advantages as solid and as extensive as the merit of their services. 
I would not have undertaken this business from any views of private emolument that 
could have possibly resulted from it to myself, even supposing I had recovered or 
should recover a sum more considerable than the penalty of my bond. But I vva.s 
anxious to force some ill natured persons to acknowledge that, if they did not tell a 
wilful falsehood, they were mistaken when they asserted that I had commanded a 
squadron of privateers. And, the war being over, I made it my first care to show the 
brave instruments of my success that their rights are as dear to me as ray own. It 
will, I believe, be proper for me to make oath before you to the amount charged for 
my ordinary expenses. I flatter myself that you will find no objection to the account 
as I have stated it, and that you are of opinion that, after this settlement has been made 
between us, my bond ought to stand cancelled as far as regards my transactions with 
the court of France. Should any part of the prize money remain in the treasury, 
without being claimed, after sufticient time shall be elapsed, I beg leave to submit to 
you, to the treasury, and to Congress, whether I have not merited by my conduct since 
I returned to Europe that such remainder should be disposed of in my favour ?" 



PAUL JONES. 361 

rious Madame T , by obtaining for her, through a lady of 

rank, an introduction to the king, who received her with great 
kindness and said he charged himself with her fortune. He had 
his bust taken by Houdon, " to whose talents it was remarked by 
professed judges it did no discredit." One of these he sent to 
Mr. Jefferson, and two to Philadelphia, which he intended to 
present in person on his return. Writing to Mr. Morris in 1787, 
he says: " as the moment of my return to America continues 
uncertain, I beg you will now accept the bust as a mark of my 
affection. Mr. Nesbitt writes me that a duty was demanded on 
my busts. This, I own, surprises me. They are not merchan- 
dise ; and J flatter myself that my zeal and exertions for the 
cause of America will not be requited with such a mark of dis- 
honour. I would rather hear that the busts were broke to 
pieces, than consent that they should be subject to a duty." At 
this time he also projected a commercial speculation in connec- 
tion with the celebrated John Ledyard. The acquaintance be- 
tween Jones and Ledyard commenced in 1785, as must be 
inferred from the letters of Jones. The project was spoken of 
in the London papers in that year. The following is an extract 
from the London Chronicle of August 20th, 1785: " A letter 
from L'Orient says : Paul Jones has arrived here from Paris 
to fit out three ships on his own account, of which it is said he 
will take the command on an expedition to Kamschatka, to 
purchase furs and establish a factory. This he is enabled to do 
by having lately received 400,000 livres for the prizes he took in 
the war." Such is newspaper exaggei^tion. The " propositions 
for a commercial enterprise" are before me in French. The 
year in which they were drawn up does not appear in the instru- 
ment. " A vessel of 250 tons was to be armed and equipped, 
with forty-five officers and men, who were to be French. She 
was to sail on the 1st October, for Cape Horn, thence to the 
Sandwich Islands to take in provisions, and thence continue her 
route towards the north-west coast, where she would arrive in 
April. She was to remain there, if business required it, until 
September or October, and then make sail for Japan, where 

45 



362 PAUL JONES. 

the peltry was to be exchanged for gold or other commodities, 
if the market proved better than that of China, which was thought 
probable. If not, she was to proceed to Macao ; where ex- 
perience had proved that, at the most moderate calculation, the 
furs would bring ten livres a-piece, the amount of which was to 
be taken in gold or the merchandise of China ; after which she 
was to return to France, by the ordinary route round the Cape 
of Good Hope, and would arrive after a voyage of about 
eighteen months. As supercargo, a citizen of the U. States 
(Ledyard) was proposed, who had been an officer of Captain 
Cook in his last voyage round the world, and had come to 
France expressly to propose this enterprise, and demanded no 
appointments or other compensation than a reasonable commis- 
sion on the profits of the voyage." The propositions proceed 
to set forth, that the novelty of the projected voyage was the 
only disadvantageous circumstance anticipated in relation to it, 
while its advantages were easily foreseen ; that the risks, com- 
pared to the profits, were, at the most moderate estimate, but as 
one to ten, which was far less than attended all voyages either 
to the East or West Indies ; that the expenses of the arma- 
ment and cargo were very inconsiderable ; that the quality, 
variety, and quantity of the skins on the north-west coast ex- 
ceeded all known of the kind in any other part of the world; 
that such precious furs might be bought for a bagatelle, and 
sold at a market where the venders might fix their own price; 
that the distance between the places of purchase and sale was 
so inconsequential, that the peltry could not be injured by the 
transportation ; that there was no necessity of delaying in any 
port before arriving in China, which would save great expenses 
and other inconveniences ; that they would touch at a port 
where the supercargo could procure provisions at the lowest 
price, viz. pork, salt, fish, poultry, vegetables, «fcc. for twelve 
months or more. Of the commercial knowledge which would 
be acquired by those who should undertake the expedition, of 
the opportunity it would afford to make a most precious collec- 
tion of natural and artificial curiosities, of the honour and plea- 



PAUL JONES. 



363 



sure which would result from it, the projector spoke only as ac- 
cidental circumstances. He added that it would be better if the 
enterprise were undertaken by a single house, or two at most, 
the expense attending the equipment being so unimportant ; 
and that those who should advance the funds need not be inter- 
rupted in their business, as the supercargo would take upon him- 
self the charge of making all the necessary arrangements, with 
the greatest despatch. He observed, that there was scarce any 
branch of commerce as important for France as that in furs, 
especially by a channel which might be so considerably aug- 
mented, possessing the great advantage of a certain market in 
China and always obtaining advantageous returns from thence. 
The speculators might also at all hazard give a credit by bills 
of exchange or otherwise, to be. used in China if necessary, 
which would give the same advantages to the expedition as an 
ordinary voyage to the East Indies, which any ship under the 
American flag might undertake. The supercargo could pro- 
vide all the charts necessary for the voyage, except those from 
the Straits of Magellan to the south by Cape Horn ; but they 
could easily be procured. The following estimate was added 
of the expenses and profits of the expedition. 



EXPENSES. 

Cost of a vessel of 250 tons, - - £1,250 

Complete equipment, - - - - 1,250 

Provisions for a year, - - - - 500 

Cargo, 500 

Wages advanced to the crew, - 250 



Profit of the voyage, 



3,750 
36,250 



Sterling £40,000 



RETURNS. 
A cai-go of 3,000 skins bought 

on the N. W. Coast, worth 

10 Louis a-piece ip China, £30,000 
As a moderate profit on the 

merchandise bought in 

China, 10,000 

Sterling £40,000 



A most interesting account is given in the Life of Ledyard, of 
his efforts both in America and France, to obtain a ship for car- 
rying this project into execution.* Ledyard says, that Mj. 



Sparks' Life of Ledyard. pp. 130 — 156. 



364 PAUL JONES. 

Morris "took a noble hold, instantly, of the enterprise." It fell 
through, however, in America as it did in France, where Mr. 
Jefferson's sagacious mind readily comprehended the impor- 
tance of discovery and settlement in regions which might event- 
ually fall within the boundaries of the Union. It appears from 
Ledyard's papers, that the plan arranged between Jones and 
himself was, to fit out two ships and obtain, if possible, commis- 
sions for them from the king. Jones was to use his court influ- 
ence to persuade the government to assist, and furnish vessels 
and armament. If this should fail, he was to furnish funds him- 
self, according to his means ; and they were to act on their own 
responsibility. They meant to commence a factory on the 
r^orth-west coast, and build a stoccade, in which Ledyard was 
to remain with a small force. Jones was to proceed to China 
with one of the vessels, the other was to be left to collect a 
second cargo. He was afterwards to go with both to China, 
exchange the furs for silks and teas ; and, having disposed of his 
cargoes, return round Cape Horn again with aiticles suitable 
for traffic with the Indians, whose good acquaintance Ledyard 
was to be left to cultivate. The latter expected to be absent 
for perhaps six or seven years. The delay Jones experienced 
in obtaining the prize money, no doubt contributed to the falling 
through of the scheme; about which the latter in his general 
correspondence writes with his usual mystery. 

Those who have realized princely fortunes by this commerce 
will be able to criticise the merits of Ledyard's plan, and the 
accuracy of his estimates. The " disadvantage of novelty," or 
want of the enlightened spirit of enterprise, caused the merchants 
to whom he suggested it, to let this golden opportunity escape. 
Jones had the shrewdness to perceive the tempting hopes which 
it held forth. In several respects he and Ledyard were conge- 
nial spirits. He had written to Dr. Bancroft on the business, 
as appears from a letter to him from that gentleman, dated 
September 9th, 1785. The writer says : " I endeavoured as 
early as possible to gain information respecting the object of 
your inquiry, but it was a difficult matter, none of my acquaint- 



PAUL JONES. 365 

aiices knowing any thing more of it than what had appeared in 
the public pajiers. Yesterday, however, I was informed by a 
gentleman who, I believe, has some more knowledge of the fact, 
that the two vessels, King George and Queen Charlotte, have 
actually sailed on the expedition which was thought of by Mr. 
Ledyard, for furs, which, I should suppose must interfere with 
and very much lessen the profits of any similar undertaking by 
others. Mr. Williams went from hence to America with Dr. 
Franklin, before my return, and I do not know what he did re- 
specting your sword, &c.'' At this time, as appears by a letter 
of the same date from the house of S. &; I. S. Delap, Jones was 
in treaty for the purchase of a vessel for this expedition. The 
price of one vessel mentioned to Jones by them was 80,000 
livres, trebling in amount the calculation of Ledyard. He had 
also written to America, asking the advice of Mr. Morris on the 
subject, and postponed making a purchase until he should receive 
an answer from him, which was not until the first of December; 
"an unfortunate circumstance," as he wrote to Mr. Nesbitt, 
" for at the same time with the letter from Mr. Morris, I re- 
ceived one from Bordeaux, informing me that the ship in ques- 
tion, (the finest that had been seen in that port,) was rather 
given away than sold. I wrote to Madrid, and by the informa- 
tion I have from thence, it appears that Spain is too jealous to 
permit any commercial speculation in the neighbourhood of 
California.* I shall write again to Bordeaux, to inform myself 
whether the ship in question may not yet be obtained for a rea- 
sonable advance. If I make that or any other suitable pur- 
chase, it will be with a view to accept of the offer of Mr. Morris, 
and a reliance on his kind disposition towards me. * * * * I 
should be sorry, very sorry, if my frankness to Mr. Ross has lost 
me his friendship ; but the step is taken, and I do not feel that 
it is my place to ask pardon." 



* On this hint, the author of the Life published in Edinburgh ascribes the abandon- 
ment of Ledyard's projected scheme, to a dread of Spanish interference. 



366 PAUL JONES. 

About this time I find a billet from Compte d'Estaing which 
may be thought curious. It is as follows : 

" Le Cte d'Estaing est engage depuis plusieurs jours chez M'. 
D'Orey ; et il a renouvelle hyer sa promesse de maniere, a ne 
pouvoir y manquer. II remercie Monsieur Paul Jones, et ses 
regrets augmentent d'autant plus, qu'il a un presentiment que 
M'. de St. James, qu'il fait gloire d'aimer de tout son cceur y 
viendra peut-etre, en fort aimable compagnie. Y^ count is very 
well acquainted with y^ amiability and the holy name of the 
lady, but not yet with his charming person ; and he is very 
curious of it. 
" A Lundy." 

Jones was as much mystified as we are by the allusion made 
in the count's attempted English. In his reply, he says that 
he at first made a wrong application of it ; but M^ de St. James 
undeceived him, without, however, explaining its meaning. He 
was full of the same mercantile schemes referred to, in the 
quotation from his letter to Mr. Nesbitt. To the Count d'Es- 
taing, he says : " I did myself the honour to call at your hotel 
yesterday, to inform you that by the inquiry I have made re- 
specting the contract of Mr. Morris for furnishing France with 
60,000 hogsheads of tobacco, I find it is to be delivered in France 
at 36 livres per hundred weight ; and that so great a monopoly 
will enable him to purchase it at the warehouses in Virginia, at 
the low price of 22 livres 10 sous. So that he will have 13 
livres 10 sous on every hundred weight for shipping charges, 
freight, and profit. 

" I have spoken to Mr. Jefferson respecting the obliging pro- 
positions you made on my subject to the Marquis de la Fayette. 
I am happy to find that Mr. Jefferson thinks well of the place, 
and says, that if this government will apply to Congress, there is 
no doubt of obtaining their consent. By the alliance between 
France and America, it is stipulated that when France shall 
find herself engaged in a war with Great Britain, in which 



PAUL JONES. 367 

America takes no active part, the ports of the United States 
shall be open for the ships of war of France ; where they may 
refit and sell their prizes. But the British are excluded from 
those great advantages. The growing commerce of America 
and her extended fisheries are perpetual and increasing nur- 
series for seamen. And avarice will always furnish, in the free 
ports of America, as many foreign seamen as may be wanted. 
The great benefit that France may derive from these favour- 
able circumstances, cannot escape a mind so extended and well 
cultivated as yours. And you are too good a citizen to be in- 
different on any point when you can render service to your 
country, or oblige a man who glories in being honoured with 
your attachment. The extract of my Journals will, I expect, 
be presented on Monday." 

Mr. Jefferson had written to Jones, while the latter was at 
L'Orient, for information relative to the voyage of discovery 
about to be made by La Perouse. The following was his com- 
munication in reply : 

" The following is the best information I am able to give you, 
in compliance with the letter, dated at Paris the 3d of August, 
1785, which you did me the honour to address me at L'Orient. 

" The Boussole and the Astrolabe, two gabarts of 600 tons 
each, sheathed with copper and equipped in the best manner, 
sailed from Brest the 1st of August, 1785, under the command 
of M. de la Perouse and the Viscount de Langle, captains in the 
royal navy. They had on board a great variety of trees, plants, 
and seeds, that suit the climate of France ; manufactures in 
linen, woollen, and cotton, and in iron and copper, &.c. <fcc. me- 
chanical tools of all sorts ; a great quantity of trinkets and toys ; 
ploughs, and all sorts of utensils and implements for agriculture, 
and a quantity of unwrought iron. Each ship had on board a 
large shallop in frames, and a million of French livres in the 
coins of different nations. Each ship had also on board twenty- 
one soldiers, draughted from the two regiments at Brest, all 
of whom were either mechanics or farmers. They had on board 
no women ; nor any animals, except such as appeared to be 



368 PAUL JONES. 

destined for the refreshment of the crews. The crew of each 
ship is one hundred men, including officers and men of genius. 
The king himself planned the expedition, and made out all the 
details with his own hand, before he spoke a word of it to any 
person. His majesty defrays the expense of it out of his private 
coffer, and is his own minister in every thing that regards the 
operation of his plan. There is no doubt but that the perfect- 
ing of the geography of the southern hemisphere is one of his 
majesty's objects in view ; and it is not difficult to perceive, that 
he has others equally worthy the attention of a great prince ; 
one of which may be, to extend the commerce of his subjects by 
establishing factories, at a future day, for the fur trade, on the 
north-west coast of America ; and another, to establish colonies 
in New Holland, after having well explored the coast, and made 
experiments on the soil of that vast island, which is situated in so 
happy a climate, and so contiguous to the establishments of 
France in the East Indies." 

The fate of the three prizes sent to Bergen, in Norway, has 
been mentioned.* They were valued by M. Dechezaulx the 
French consul there, at fifty thousand pounds sterling ;f five-fold 
the amount recovered for the prizes sent into France. The power 
of soliciting payment for this money was given to Jones by the 
general resolution of Congress, on the 1st November, 1783, and 
the authorization of Franklin in virtue thereof, on the 17th De- 
cember following. Neither did he ever lose sight of this object, 
to which he now began to turn his attention particularly. In the 
letter addressed by Dr. Franklin to Count Bernstorf, prime 
minister of Denmark, in December, 1779, reclaiming these 
prizes or their value, the American statesman urged every con- 
sideration of policy and equity to induce a repeal of the order 
giving them up to the English. Bernstorf 's reply, written in 
March following, was a good sample of diplomatic flourish, eva- 
sion, and shuffling, vulgarly called in America, " whipping the 



Page 245. t Including the Charming Polly. 



PAUL JONES. 369 

devil round the stump." He referred " for further particulars" 
to the Baron de Blome, Danish minister at Paris, who of course 
had nothing but compliments and condolences to offer ; and 
there the matter rested, until the independence of the United 
States was recognised by Denmark, and the advantage of 
making a treaty of amity and commerce between the two na- 
tions, became apparent to the Danish ministry. Count Rosen- 
crone, the minister for foreign affairs, wrote in 1783, to M. de 
Waltersdorf, Danish minister at London, recommending to 
him, as he learned that he was about making a tour in France, 
to endeavour as much as possible to gain the confidence and 
esteem of Franklin, with a view to obtaining a treaty between 
the two nations, founded on a basis similar to tiiat which had 
been made between the United States and the States General. 
The latter was intended for exhibition to Franklin, and of 
course proffered great readiness to meet with frankness any 
overtures that might be made. On this communication being 
made to him, Franklin proceeded to address Count Rosencrone, 
intimating that a commission would probably soon be sent from 
the United States, appointing some person in Europe to enter 
into a treaty with his Danish majesty, on the basis suggested. 
*' To smooth the way for obtaining this desirable end," he 
added, that it became necessary for him to call the minister's 
attention to the affairs of the three prizes whose violent seizure 
he was " inclined to think a hasty act, procured by the impor- 
tunities and misrepresentations of the British minister." Some 
time after, having written to the court, Waltersdorf informed 
Franklin that he was authorized to offer a compensation of 
10,000 pounds, which was declined, " because it was thought 
the value of the prizes was the true measure of compensation, 
and that that ought to be inquired into." 

In 1785, when Mr. Jefferson had succeeded the sage of Passy, 
Jones wrote to Mr. Adams as minister at London, on the sub- 
ject. It seems that before the receipt of the letter, the Count 
de Waltersdorf had gone to the West Indies. Jones then pro- 
posed assigning his powers as agent, with Mr. Jefferson's assent, 

46 



370 PAUL JONES. 

to his friend Dr. Bancroft, as he wished to make the application 
to the court of Denmark without further loss of time. The 
following letter from Mr. Adams, is dated July 17th, 1786. 

" I have received the letter you did me the honour to write 
me on the 10th of this month, and embrace the opportunity by 
Colonel Trumbull to answer it. The Count de Reventlan, 
complaisantly enough, enclosed my letter to the Baron de Wal- 
tersdorf, in his despatch to the Danish ministry, and informed 
him that it related to a public affair. So that there is no room 
to doubt that the letter went safe, and that tha:t court are ac- 
quainted with its contents. But no answer has been received. 
I am told that the Baron de Waltersdorf has been at Paris and 
at the Hague, long since the date of my letter to him ; and I 
was told he was coming to London where I should see him. 
But he has not yet been here. As there is a Danish minister 
now in Paris, I should advise you to apply to him; for the 
foreign ministers in general, at the court of Versailles, have less 
weight upon their spirits in all things relating to America, than 
those at London. Cash, I fancy, is not an abundant article in 
Denmark, and your claim has j^robably delayed and suspended 
all negociations with Mr. Jefferson and me, respecting a com- 
mercial treaty, for which, three years ago, there was no little 
zeal. This, however, is only conjecture, in confidence." 

Jones thought, however, that as the plan of applying through 
the ambassadors had proved slow and uncertain, and as Con- 
gress had in June previous ordered the prize money paid over 
by him to be distributed by the board of treasury, which made 
his immediate return to America unnecessary, it would be 
better for him to proceed in person to Copenhagen, of which 
Mr. Jefferson approved. Jones asked and obtained a letter 
from the Count de Vergennes to the Baron de la Houze, French 
minister in Denmark, and armed himself with other credentials. 
On the 18th of August, Mr. Jefferson wrote to Baron de Blome, 
who was at the waters, informing him of the object of the che- 
valier's mission, requesting him to advise his court thereof, 
and asking his good offices with the ministers. 



PAUL JONES. 371 

He did not go to Copenhagen, but paid a flying visit to Ame- 
rica, the cause of which will appear from the annexed letter to 
Mr. Jay, minister of foreign affairs, written shortly after his 
arrival at New York. Mr. Jefferson had not full powers to 
allow the charge made by him for his expenses, while soliciting 
payment of the prize money ; which may have had some par- 
tial influence in inducing this deviation from his immediate 
purpose. " I left Paris in the spring, and went as far as Brus- 
sels on my way to Copenhagen, when an unforeseen circum- 
stance in my private aftairs rendered it indispensable for me 
to turn about and cross the ocean. My private business here 
being already finished, I shall in^ a few days re-embark for 
Europe, in order to proceed to the court of Denmark. It is 
my intention to go by the way of Paris, in order to obtain a let- 
ter to the French minister at Copenhagen, from the Count de 
Montmorin, as the one I obtained is from the Count de Ver- 
genues. It would be highly flattering to me if I could carry a 
letter with me from Congress to his most christian majesty, 
thanking him for the squadron he did us the honour to support 
under our flag. And on this occasion, sir, permit me, with be- 
coming difiidenco, to recall the attention of my sovereign to the 
letter of recommendation I brought with me from the court of 
France, dated 30th May, 1780. It would be pleasing to me if 
that letter should be found to merit a place on the journals of 
Congress. Permit me also to entreat that Congress will be 
pleased to. read the letter I received from the minister of ma- 
rine, when his majesty deigned to bestow on me a golden-hilted 
sword, emblematical of the happy alliance ; an honour which 
his majesty never conferred on any other foreign officer. 1 
owed the high favour I enjoyed at the court of France in a great 
degree to the favourable testimony of my conduct which had 
been communicated by his majesty's ambassador, under whose 
eye I acted in the most critical situation in the Texel, as well 
as to the public opinion of Europe. And the letter with which 
I was honoured by the prime minister of France, when I was 
about to return to America, is a clear proof that we might have 



372 PAUL JONES. 

I ... 

drawn still greater advantages from the generous disposition of 

our ally, if our marine had not been lost whilst I was, under 

perplexing circumstances, detained in Europe, after I had given 

the Count de Maurepas my plan for forming a combined squad 

ron of ten or twelve sail of frigates, sui)ported by the America 

with a detachment of French troops on board ; the whole at the 

expense of his majesty. 

" It is certain that I am much flattered by receiving a gold 
sword from the most illustrious monarch now living; but I had 
refused to accept his commission on two occasions before that 
time, when some firmness was necessary to resist the tempta- 
tion. He was not my sovereign ; I served the cause of freedom ; 
and honours from ray sovereign would be more pleasing. Since 
the year 1775, when I displayed the American flag for the first 
iime with my own hands, I have been constantly devoted to the 
interests of America. Foreigners have, perhaps, given me too 
much credit, and this may have raised my ideas of my services 
above their real value ; but my zeal can never be over-rated. 

" I should act inconsistently if I omitted to mention the 
dreadful situation of our unhappy fellow-citizens in slavery at 
Algiers. Their almost hopeless fate is a deep reflection on our 
national character in Europe. I beg leave to influence the 
humanity of Congress in their behalf, and to propose that some 
expedient may be adopted for their redemption. A fund might 
be raised for that purpose, by a duty of a shilling per month 
from seamen's wages, throughout the continent, and I am per- 
suaded that no difliculty would be made to that requisition." 

The reasons of Jones for returning thus suddenly to America, 
are further explained in his letters to Mr. Jeflerson and Dr. 
Bancroft in September of this year. He had expected to re- 
ceive at Brussels the necessary funds for his journey to, and 
business at Copenhagen ; but was altogether disappointed. He 
also met with difficulty and loss in disposing of part of his bank 
stock while in America. 

A letter of June 23d, from Madame T , informed him 

of the sudden death of her friend and protectress the Marquise 



•• PAUL JONES. 373 

de Marsan, who had introduced her to the king. He says, 
writing to Dr. Bancroft: "this is also a great grief and loss to 
me, as I had in that lady a valuable friend." To Mr. Jeffer- 
son he said: " the letter you sent me, left the feeling author all 
in tears ! Her friend — her protectress — her introductressto the 
king, was suddenly dead! She was in despair ! She lost more 
than a mother ! A loss, indeed, that nothing can repair ; for 
fortune and favour are never to be compared to tried friend- 
ship. I hope, however, she has gone to visit the king in July, 
agreeably to his appointment given her in the month of March. 
I am persuaded that he would receive her with additional kind- 
ness, and that her loss would, in his mind, be a new claim to 
his protection ; especially as he well knows and has acknow- 
ledged her superior merit and just pretensions. As I feel the 
greatest concern for the situation of this worthy lady, you will 
render me a great favour by writing a note, requesting her to 
call on you, as you have something to communicate from me. 
When she comes, be so good as to deliver her the within let- 
ter, and show her this ; that she may see both my confidence 
in you and my advice to her." 

His letter to the lady was as follows : 

" New York, September 4, 1787. 
" No language can convey to my fair mourner the tender 
sorrow. I feel on her account ! The loss of our worthy friend is 
indeed a fatal stroke ! It is an irreparable misfortune which can 
only be alleviated by this one reflection, that it is the will of 
God, whose providence has, I hope, other blessings in store for 
us. She was a tried friend, and more than a mother to you ! 
She would have been a mother to me also had she lived. We 
have lost her ! Let us cherish her memory, and send up grate- 
ful thanks to the Almighty that we once had such a friend. I 
cannot but flatter myself that you have yourself gone to the 
king in July as he had appointed. I am sure your loss will 
be a new inducement for him to protect you, and render you 
justice. He will hear you, I am sure ; and you may safely un- 



374 PAUL JONES. 

bosom yourself to him, and ask his advice, which cannot but 
be flattering to him to give you. Tell him you must look on 
him as your father and protector. If it were necessary, I think, 
too, that the Count d'A ,* his brother, would, on your per- 
sonal application, render you good offices by speaking in your 
favour. I should like it better, however, if you can do with- 
out him. Mr. Jeft'orson will show you my letter of this date to 
him. You will see by it how disgracefully I have been detained 
here by the board of treasury. It is impossible for me to stir 
from this place till I obtain their settlement on the business I 
have already performed ; and as the season is already far 
advanced, I expect to be ordered to embark directly for the 
place of my destination in the north. Mr. Jefferson will for- 
ward me your letters. I am almost without money, and much 
puzzled to obtain a supply. I have written to Dr. Bancroft to 
endeavour to assist me. I mention this with infinite regret, 
and for no other reason than because it is impossible for me to 
transmit you a supply under my present circumstances. This 
is my fifth letter to you since I left Paris. The two last were 
from France, and I sent them by duphcates. But you say 
nothing of having received any letters from me ! Summon, my 
dear friend, all your resolution! Exert yourself, and plead 
your own cause. You cannot fail of success ; your cause would 
move a heart of flint ! Present my best respects to your sister. 
You did not mention her in your letter ; but I persuade myself 
she will continue her tender care of her sweet godson, and that 
you will cover him all over with kisses from me ; they come 
warm to you both from the heart !" 

He says, in his letter to Mr. Jefferson: " I should have re- 
turned by the July packet, but was unexpectedly detained by 
the treasury ; and notwithstanding my continual pressing appli- 
cation since that time, the board has not yet reported to Con- 



* Count d'Artois, now Charles X. 



PAUL JONES. 375 

gress on my business done with the court of France. There is 
no Congress at this moment ; but as the grand convention is 
expected to rise about the 20th, there is Utile doubt but that 
Congress will be full soon afterwards. The board, I under- 
stand, is now ready to report. I expect to obtain from Congress 
a letter of thanks to the king, for the force he put under my 
command, and supported under the flag of the United States ; 
and my promotion has been talked of, to date from the day I 
took the Serapis." 

The report of the board of treasury was not satisfactory to 
him. He made, among others, the following comments upon it. 
" The settlement that I made with the court of France had 
first Dr. Franklin's, and afterwards Mr. Jefferson's approbation, 
in every stage and article of the business ; and I presume it 
will be found, at least so far as depended on me, to merit that 
of the United States. The board of treasury have been pleased 
in their report to treat me as a mere agent, though employed 
in that delicate national concern. In France I was received and 
treated by the king and his ministers as a general officer and a 
special minister from Congress. The credit with which I am 
honoured as an officer, in the opinion of Europe, and the per- 
sonal intimacy I have with many great characters at Paris, with 
my exclusive knowledge of all circumstances relative to the 
business, insured me a success which no other man could have 
obtained. My situation subjected me to considerable expense. 
I went to court much oftener, and mixed with the great much 
nlore frequently, than our minister plenipotentiary, yet the 
gentlemen in that situation consider their salary of two thou- 
sand sterling a year as scarcely adequate to their expenses." 

Speaking of Landais, he says : " The board seems very 
zealous for the interests of that broken and disgraced officer. I 
shall say nothing in opposition to his interests ; but I am pos- 
sessed of ample testimony, that if he had been tried on my ac- 
cusation, (instead of being broke and disgraced for bringing 
away the Alliance from France, after his being suspended by 
Dr. Franklin,) the judgment of the court martial would have 



376 PAUL JONES. 

been of a more grave and serious nature ; a glaring proof, 
among many others, that we had no system for the government of 
our navy, and that we need.not at this date be so tenacious of 
its vaunted ordinances ; especially in a delicate case between 
two nations, where they cannot in all respects be applied to the 
letter." The letter from which the foregoing extracts are made, 
was addressed to the chairman of a committee on the report of 
the board of treasury. It is a bold and able vindication of his 
conduct and claims ; but is too long for insertion. He says in 
the course of it, " The proposition of the board of treasury, that 
I should give new securities for the business I am to transact in 
Denmark, cannot be complied with. The securities I gave 
with my own, are men of ))roperty, and their known honour and 
honesty set their characters above any attack. They have both 
of them been able and faithful servants of the American cause." 

Congress was disposed to act with more liberality than the 
board, and all Jones wished for was more than accomplished. 
His letter to Mr. Jay was in part referred back to that gentle- 
man for his report. On this occasion he took the opportunity 
of again urging the hints he had suggested in the conclusion. 
" I beg leave," he said, " to observe on the latter part of that 
letter, respecting the fund I wish to see established for the re- 
demption of our fellow-citizens at Algiers, that I had also in 
view, at the time, a national establishment, on the plan of the 
Greenwich Hospital in England, or Hotel des Invalids at Pai'is, 
which would be effected from the residue of the increasing fund 
I have proposed. I beg you, therefore, sir, to take notice of 
this in your report." 

On the report made by a committee. Congress passed reso- 
lutions on the 11th October, confirming the quotas assigned to 
the several ships which had been under his command, and di- 
recting a distribution to be made agreeably thereto,* and on 
the 16th, that body passed the following resolution. 



* Mr. Carrington moved on this day a resolution to the effect that, though the terms 
npon which Jones originally undertook the negociation, were for the usual commis- 



PAUL JONES. 377 

' Resolved mmnimously, That a medal of gold be struck, and 
presented to the Chevalier John Paul Jones, in commemoration 
of the valour and brilliant services of that officer, in the com- 
mand of a squadron of American and French ships under the 
flag and commission of the United States, off the coast of Great 
Britain, in the late war ; and that the Honourable Mr. Jeffer- 
son, minister plenipotentiary of the United States at the court 
of Versailles, have the same executed, with the proper devices." 
It was also resolved, that a letter should be written to the 
king of France, which was drawn up by Mr. Jay, and was as 
follow 

" To His Most Christian Majesty, Louis, King of France and 

Navarre. 

" Great and beloved Friend ! 

" We, the United States in Congress assembled, in consider- 
ation of the distinguished marks of approbation with which your 
majesty has been pleased to honour the Chevalier John Paul 
Jones as well as from a sense of his merit, have unanimously 
directed a medal of gold to be struck and presented to him, in 
commemoration of his valour and brilliant services while com- 
manding a squadron of French and American ships, under 
our flag and commission, off the coast of Great Britain, in the 

late war. 

" As it is his earnest desire to acquire knowledge in his pro- 
fession, we cannot forbear requesting of your majesty to permit 



sions, yet as the business weis found to stand upon materially different ground from 
that contemplated at the time of the appointment, it was just and reasonable that the 
full value of the services and expenses necessarily incurred should be deducted from the 
property recovered ; and that he should be authorized to retain the 47,972 livrea in his 
hands. Mr. H. Lee moved to postpone the consideration of this motion, and offered 
another, viz : that the excess of money expended over the amount of commission 
should be paid out of the federal treasury. On the question of postponement, the ayes 
were only four. On the question to agree to Mr. Carrington's motion, the delegates of 
eight States voted for it, two against it, and those of Virginia were divided. New Hamp- 
shire and Maryland had each only a single delegate present. So the question was lost 

47 



378 PAUL JONES. 

him to embark in your fleets of evolution, where only it will be 
probably in his power to acquire that degree of knowledge which 
may hereafter render him most extensively useful. 

'• Permit us to repeat to your majesty, oi«' sincere assurances, 
that the various and important benefits for which we are indebt- 
ed to your friendship will never cease to interest us in whatever 
may concern the happiness of your majesty, your family, and 
people. We pray God to keep you, our great and beloved 
friend, under his holy protection. 

" Done at the city of New York, the 16th day of October, in the 
year of our Lord 1787, and of our sovereignty and indepen- 
dence the 12th." 

On the 24th of October, we find the following letter to 

Madame T , the last that appears among his papers ; 

nor is there any further record of his intercourse with that lady. 

" The last French packet brought no letter to me from the 
person whose happiness is dearer to me than any thing else. I 
have been on the rack of fear and apprehension, and am totally 
unable to account for that silence ! My business is done here, 
and the moment of my return to Europe approaches. My sen- 
timents are unchanged, and my impatience can better be ima- 
gined than expressed. I have been honoured here beyond my 
own expectations. But your silence makes even honours in- 
sipid. I am, however, far from blaming you ; want of health, 
or some other misfortune must have interposed. If this reaches 
you, remember me aflfectionately to your sister and her godson. 
May Heaven avert all trouble from you." 

On the 25th, Congress passed resolutions, authorizing and 
instructing the minister at Versailles to make proper represent- 
ations to his Danish majesty on the subject of the claim against 
him, to settle the demand, and to despatch the Chevalier Paul 
Jones, or such other agent as he might appoint, with powers to 
carry on the negociation, subject to his eventual approbation. 
Five per cent, commissions was to be allowed, for all expenses 
and demands whatever. 



PAUL JONES. 379 

The following is an extract from a letter of Jones to Mr. Jef- 
ferson, dated the 24th. > 

" I should have embarked in the }iacket that will sail for 
Havre to-morrow morning ; but an account having arrived here 
that the English fleet is out, and was seen steering to the west- 
ward, and that a British squadron is cruising in the North Sea, 
has induced me, with the advice of my friends, to postpone my 
embarkation till the next opportunity, an American ship, about 
the beginning of next month." 

More than once he intimates apprehensions, that he was not 
safe from English resentment. They are treated in the Edin- 
burgh Biography with levity. There is some mystery in his 
being desirous not to attract public attention at the commence- 
ment of this mission, which cannot be cleared up ; though it 
may be conjectured that he was uncertain as to what course he 
should pursue, or what service he might engage in. It is barely 
poss^ible that he may have had some views to the brilliant pro- 
spect which in fact opened upon him, on his arrival in Europe, 
and which held out a far more glorious promise than being 
permitted to embark for improvement in the French fleets of 
evolution. However this may be, he sailed from New York on 
the 11th December, landed at Dover on account of unfavour- 
able weather, and after spending a few days in London,* where 
he conferred with Adams on the objects of his mission, he re- 
paired forthwith to Paris. The following was his first com- 
munication, to Mr. Jeffbrson. 

[private.] 

" Hotel ckBeauvais, rue de vieux Augustines, 
Paris, December 12, 1787. 

" His Excellency Thomas Jefferson, 

" Sir — I am just arrived here from England. I left New 
York the 11th of November, and have brought public despatches 



* He went, he says, to Covent Garden Theatre ; which does not indicate that he 
was afraid of popular resentment. 



380 PAUL JONES. 

and a number of private letters for you. I would have vi^aited 
on you immediately, instead of writing, but I have several 
strong reasons for desiring that no person should know of my 
being here till I have seen you, and been favoured with your 
advice on the steps I ought to pursue. I have a letter from 
Congress for the king, and perhaps you will think it advisable 
not to present it at this moment. I shall not go out till I hear 
from, or see you. And, as the people in this hotel do not know 
my name, you will please to ask for the gentleman just arrived, 
who is lodged in No. 1." 

At the interview thus solicited, Mr. Jefferson made a com- 
munication to him, which, though he says in his Journal he at first 
treated it as chimerical, must, unanticipated as it probabl} was, 
have awakened ambitious hopes and dreams of glory too pow- 
erful and vivid not to be entertained and deeply meditated upon. 
He informed him, that in several conversations he had held 
with M. Simolin, the Russian ambassador at Versailles, the 
latter had intimated his opinion that it would be of great impor- 
tance to the empress, if she could engage the services of the 
chevalier in the war she was carrying on against the Turks. 
He was not authorized to make any specific proposition ; but 
the hint was certainly not unattended to by the commodore. 

On the 24th December, he submitted to Mr. Jefferson's peru- 
sal his documents in relation to the claim on Denmark. He 
says, in conclusion : " I have explained to the board of treasury 
the mistake that was made, in calling the ships in question 
' prizes of the Alliance ;' and left them perfectly convinced that 
the prizes belong to the squadron in general.* Now, as his 
most christian majesty was at the whole expense of supporting 
the squadron I commanded, including the expense of the Alli- 
ance, I submit to you what kind of support would be most pro- 



* As these prizes had been commissioned to war upon American vessels, &c. they 
belonged wholly to the captors. 



PAUL JONES. 381 

per for this court to afford to my reclamation at the court of 
Denmark ? It is the duty of this government to interest itself 
in behalf of the French subjects who were embarked under my 
orders. In doing this, would it be most proper to authorize me 
to act for them in common with the Americans ; or to direct 
the Baron de la Houze to support my application ?" 

On the 24th of January following, he received his credentials 
from Mr. Jefferson, according to the tenor of the Act of Con- 
gress, and soon after set out for Copenhagen. The following 
letter to Mr. Jefferson explains the circumstances of his arrival 
and reception. It is dated March 11th. 

" I have been so much indisposed since my arrival here the 
4th, from the fatigue and excessive cold I suffered on the road, 
that I have been obliged to confine myself almost constantly to 
my chamber. I have kept my bed for several days ; but I now 
feel myself better, and hope the danger is over. On my arri- 
val, I paid my respects to the minister of France. He received 
me with great kindness ; we went, five days ago, to the minis- 
ter of foreign affairs. I was much flattered with my reception, 
and our conversation was long and very particular respecting 
America and the new constitution, of which I presented a copy. 
He observed, that it had struck him as a very dangerous power 
to make the president commander-in-chief; in other respects it 
appeared to please him much, as leading to a near and sure 
treaty of commerce between America and Denmark. It was a 
day of public business, and I could not do more than present 
your letter. I shall follow the business closely. In a few days, 
when I am re-established in health, I am to be presented to the 
whole court, and to sup with the king. I shall after that be 
presented to all the corps diplomatique and other persons of 
distinction here. I am infinitely indebted to the attentions I 
receive from the minister of France. I made the inquiry you 
desired in Holland, and should then have written to you in con- 
sequence, had I not been assured, by authority, (31. Van Stop- 
horst,) that I could not doubt that letters had been sent you on 



382 PAUL JONES. 

the subject, that could not fail of giving you satisfaction. M. 
Van Stophorst was very obliging. At Hamburgh, I ordered 
the smoked beef you desired to be sent to you, to the care of 
the American agent at Havre de Grace ; you have nothing to 
do but receive it, paying vk^hat little charges may be on it. My 
ill health and fatigue on the road hindered me from preparing 
the extract of the engagement. When you see M. Littlepage,* 
I pray you to present my kind compliments. It is said here 
that the empress confides the commerce of her fleet, that will 
pass the Sound, to Admiral Greig ; and that he means to call 
at an English port to take provisions, &.c. The Hamburgh 
papers, I am told, have announced the death of Dr. Franklin. 
I shall be extremely concerned if the account prove true — God 
forbid !" 

In a subsequent letter of the 18th, he states : 
" Yesterday his excellency the Baron de la Houze, minister 
plenipotentiary of France, at this court, did me the honour to 
present me publicly to his majesty, the royal family, and chief 
personages at the royal palace here. 

"I had a very polite and distinguished reception. The queen 
dowager conversed with me for some time, and said the most 
civil things. Her majesty has a dignity of person and deport- 
ment which becomes her well, and which she has the secret to 
reconcile with great affability and ease. The princess royal is 
a charming person, and the graces are so much her own, that it 
is impossible to see and converse with her without paying her 
that homage which artless beauty and good nature will ever 
command. All the royal family spoke to me except the king, 
who speaks to no person when presented. His majesty saluted 
me with great complaisance at first, and as often afterwards as 
we met in the course of the evening. The prince royal is greatly 
beloved and extremely affable ; he asked me a number of per- 



* Chamberlain to the king of Poland. 



PAUL JONES. 383 

tinent questions respecting America. I had the honour to be 
invited to sup with his majesty and the royal family. The com- 
pany at table (consisting of seventy ladies and gentlemen, inclu- 
ding the royal family, the ministers of state, and foreign ambas- 
sadors) was very brilliant." 

It will be seen that he lost no time, as soon as his health per- 
mitted, in pressing the objects of his mission; and though he 
was at the same time engaged in a separate negociation with 
Baron Krudner, the Russian envoy at the Court of Denmark, 
he appears to have urged his demands of indemnification for 
the lost prizes with at least as much rapidity and energy as 
the proprieties of diplomacy admitted. And though he had 
very soon made up his mind about the Russian offers, as v^ill 
be seen from his letters, this did not occasion the abandon- 
ment of his application, which was got rid of by the Danish 
minister on formal pretexts, and by promises not made to be kept. 

On the 19th of March, he addresses M. De Chezaulx, who 
was still consul at Bergen in Norway, asking him to communi- 
cate what he knew and believed " in relation to the true and en- 
tire value of the prizes. * * * * From the favourable reception," 
he says, " with which I have been honoured at this court, I have 
reason to hope that my mission here will be amicably concluded. 
Please to address your letter under cover to the Baron de la 
Houze, to whose kind attention and good offices,! am under infi- 
nite obligations. I have the honour to subjoin a letter from the 
committee of foreign affairs to Dr. Franklin, in the name and 
by order of Congress, thanking you for your conduct respecting 
my prizes, and the interests of the citizens of the United States." 
It would appear from a letter to Mr. Jefferson, written on the 
20th, that the court of France had made no formal communica- 
tion to their minister at Copenhagen, (the Baron de la Houze,) 
directing him to support the claim. " I pray you," he wrote, 
"and so does he, to push that point immediately." 

On the 24th, he thus addressed the Danish minister of fo- 
reign affairs, Corapte de Bernstorf. " From the Act of Congress, 
(the Act by which I am honoured witli a gold medal,) I had the 



384 PAUL JONES. 

honour to show your excellency the 21st of this month, as well 
as from the conversation that followed, you must be convinced 
that circumstances do not permit me to remain here ; but that 
I am under the necessity, either to return to France or to pro- 
ceed to Russia. As the minister of the United States of Ame- 
rica at Paris gave me the perusal of the packet he wrote by me, 
and which I had the honour to present to you on my arrival 
here, it is needless to go into any detail on the object of my mis- 
sion to this court ; which Mr. Jefferson has particularly explained. 
The promise you have given me, of a prompt and explicit de- 
cision, from this court, on the Act of Congress of the 25th of 
October last, inspires me with full confidence. I have been very 
particular in communicating to the United States all the polite 
attentions with which I have been honoured at this court ; and 
they will learn with great pleasure the kind reception I had 
from you. I felicitated myself on being the instrument to settle 
the delicate national business in question, with a minister who 
conciliates the views of the wise statesman with the noble senti- 
ments and cultivated mind of the true philosopher and man of 
letters." 

On the 27th, I find a letter from Mr. Jefferson to Jones, 
dated at Amsterdam, where he had been staying some time 
longer than he had anticipated. He merely informs him of 
the delay in receiving news from America ; that there had been 
a rise of ten per cent, in the English bank stock ; and that the 
government of that country refused to receive or furnish refresh- 
ments to the Russian squadron destined to the Mediterranean 
On the 30th, Jones again assailed Count Bernstorf. 

" Your silence on the subject of my mission from the United 
States to this court leaves me in the most painful suspense ; the 
more so, as I have made your excellency acquainted with the 
promise I am under to proceed as soon as possible to St. Peters- 
burgh. This being the ninth year since the three prizes reclaim- 
ed by the United States were seized upon in the port of Bergen, 
in Norway, it is to be presumed that this court has long since 
taken an ultimate resolution respecting the compensation de- 



PAUL JONES. 385 

mand made by Congress. Though I am extremely sensible of 
the favourable reception with which I have been distinguished 
at this court, and am particularly flattered by the polite atten- 
tions with which you have honoured me at every conference ; 
yet I have remarked, with great concern, that you have never 
led the conversation to the objectof my mission here. A man of 
your liberal sentiments will not, therefore, be surprised, or of- 
fended at my plain dealing, when I repeat that I impatiently 
expect a prompt and categorical answer, in writing, from this 
court, to the Act of Congress of the 25th of October last. Both 
my duty and the circumstances of my situation constrain me to 
make this demand in the name of my sovereign the United 
States of America ; but I beseech you to believe, that though I 
am extremely tenacious of the honour of the American flag, yet 
my personal interest in the decision I now ask would never 
have induced me to present myself at this court. You are too 
just, sir, to delay my business here ; which would put me under 
the necessity to break the promise I have made to her imperial 
majesty, conformable to your advice." 

To this the count was obliged to reply, which he did, as fol- 
lows, on the 4th of April. 

" You have requested of me an answer to the letter you did 
me the honour to remit me from Mr. Jefferson, minister pleni- 
potentiary of the United States of America, near his most chris- 
tian majesty. I do it with so much more pleasure, as you have 
inspired me with as much interest as confidence, and this occa- 
sion appeara to me favourable to make known the sentiments of 
the king my master, on the objects to which we attach so much 
importance. Nothing can be farther from the plans and the 
wishes of his majesty than to let fall a negociation which has only 
been suspended in consequence of circumstances arising from 
the necessity of maturing a new situation, so as to enlighten 
himself on their reciprocal interests, and to avoid the inconve- 
nience of a precipitate and imperfect arrangement. I am 

48 ■ 



386 PAUL JONES. 

authorized, sir, to give you, and through you to Mr. Jefferson, 
the word of the king, that his majesty will renew the negocia- 
tion for a treaty of amity and commerce in the forms already 
agreed upon, at the instant that the new constitution (that ad- 
mirable plan, so worthy of the wisdom of the most enlightened 
men) will have been adopted by the States, to which nothing 
more was wanted to assure to itself a perfect consideration. If 
it has not been possible, sir, to discuss, definitively with you, 
neither the principal object nor its accessories, the idea of elu- 
ding the question, or of retarding the decision, had not the 
least part in it. I have already had the honour to express to 
you, in our conversations, that your want of plenipotentiary 
powers from Congress was a natural and invincible obstacle. 
It would be, likewise, contrary to the established custom to 
change the seat of negociation, which has not been broken off, 
but only suspended, thereby to transfer it from Paris to Co- 
penhagen. 

" I have only one more favour to ask of you, sir, that you 
would be the interpreter of our sentiments in regard to the 
United States. It would be a source of gratification to me to 
think that what I have said to you on this subject carries with 
it that conviction of the truth which it merits. We desire to 
form with them connexions, solid, useful, and essential ; we 
wish to establish them on bases natural and immoveable. The 
momentary clouds, the incertitudes, which the misfortunes of 
the times brought with them, exist no longer. We should no 
longer recollect it, but to feel in a more lively manner the hap- 
piness of a more fortunate period; and to show ourselves more 
eager to prove the dispositions most proper to effect an union, 
and to procure reciprocally the advantages which a sincere al- 
liance can afford, and of which the two countries are susceptible. 
These are the sentiments which I can promise you, sir, on our 
part, and we flatter ourselves to find them likewise in America ; 
nothing, then, can retard the conclusion of an arrangement, 
which I am happy to see so far advanced. 



PAUL JONES. 387 

Paid Jones to Count Bernstorf. 

" Copenhagen, April 5, 1788. 

" I pray your excellency to inform me when I can have the ho- 
nour to wait on you, to receive the letter you have been kind 
enough to promise to write me, in answer to the Act of Con- 
gress of the 25th October last. As you have told me that my 
want of plenipotentiary powers to terminate ultimately the busi- 
ness now on the carpet between this court and the United States 
has determined you to authorize the Baron de Blome to ne- 
gociate and settle the same with Mr. Jefferson at Paris, and to 
conclude at the same time an advantageous treaty of commerce 
between Denmark and the United States ; my business here 
will- of course be at an end when I shall have received your let- 
ter, ^nd paid you my thanks in person for the very polite atten- 
tions with which you have honoured me." 

Thus was this negociation brought to what was in fact its 
close.* 

Jones had received the following letter from Baron Krudner, 
shortly after his arrival at Co])enhagen. 

" I am much disappointed at not meeting you at court, as I 
had promised myself, but a slight indisposition prevented me 
from going abroad ; besides, I have been agreeably occupied in 
writing letters. My sovereign will learn with pleasure the ac- 
quisition which she has made in your great talents. I have her 
commands for your acceptance of the grade of captain com- 
mandant, + with the rank of major general, in her service, and 

♦ Mr Jefferson's reply to the conimmiication of Bernstorf at this time, will be found 
in his " Writings," Vol. II. p. 326. 

t Tooke says in his Life of Catharine II. (Vol III. p. 184, Am. Ed.) that the Prince 
de Nassau-Siegen was the only admiral, and Mr. Spiridoff the only contre admiral in 
the Russian service, towards the end of this year, 1788. He shows his ignorance as to 
the commission Jones held, and the services of the latter in the Liman campaign. He 
says : " in Russia there are three classes of captains. Those of the first have the rank 
of brigadier ; those of the second, of colonel ; those of the last, of lieutenant colonel. 
They all wear the military order of St. George ; but are only knights of the fourth 
class." 



388 PAUL JONES. 

that you should proceed as soon as your affairs permit ; the in- 
tention of her imperial majesty being to give you a command 
in the Black Sea, and under the orders of Prince Potemkin, 
from the opening of the campaign. The immortal glory by 
which you have illustrated your name cannot make you indif- 
ferent to the fresh laurels you must gather in the new career 
which opens to you. I have the honour of being on this occa- 
sion the interpreter of those sentiments of esteem with which 
for a long period your brilliant exploits have inspired her impe- 
rial majesty. Under a sovereign so magnanimous, in pursuing 
glory you need not doubt of the most distinguished rewards, and 
that every advantage of fortune will await you," &,c. &c. 

In announcing the receipt of this letter to Mr. Jefferson, Jones 
said: " Before you can receive this, M. de Simolin will hall^ in- 
formed you that your proposal to him, and his application on 
that idea, have been well received. The matter is communi- 
cated to me here, in the most flattering terms, by a letter I have 
received from his excellency the Baron de Krudner. There 
seems, however, to remain some difficulty respecting the letter 
of Monsieur de Simolin's proposal, though it is accepted, in 
substance, with an appearance of great satisfaction. I find my- 
self under the necessity of setting out for St. Petersburgh 
through Sweden in a few days, instead of returning first, as was 
my wish and intention, to Paris. I hope in the mean time to 
receive a satisfactory answer, which I shall duly communicate 
to you." 

I cannot see the particular discrepancy between these state- 
ments and those contained in the Journal, (which will present- 
ly be introduced,) which seems to have struck the writer of the 
Edinburgh Life. In the Journal Jones says, that on the first sug- 
gestion of the matter, he did not feel disjjosed to enter into a 
foreign service. But he very soon changed his mind. 

The following was his letter to Mr. Jefferson, announcing 
the termination of his business at the Danish court. It may 
be considered as apologetical for the step he was about taking, 
and must not be omitted. 



PAUL JONES. 389 

" Copmhagen, April 8, 1788. 
" His Excellency Thomas Jefferson, Esq. 

" Sir — By my letters to the Count de Bernstorf, and his ex- 
cellency's answer, you see that my business here is at an end. 
If I have not finally concluded the object of my mission, it is 
neither your fault nor mine ; the powers I received are found 
insufficient, and you could not act otherwis'e than was prescribed 
in your instructions. Thus it frequently happens, that good 
opportunities are lost when the supreme power does not place 
a sufficient confidence in the distant operations of public offi- 
cers, whether civil or military. I have, however, the melancholy 
satisfaction to reflect, that I have been received and treated 
here with a distinction far above the pretensions of my public 
mission ; and I felicitate myself sincerely, on being, at my own 
expense, (and even at the peril of my life, for my sufferings, 
from the inclemency of the weather, and my want of proper 
means to guard against it on the journey, were inexpressible; 
and I believe, from what I yet feel, will continue to affect my 
constitution,) the instrument to renew the negociation between 
this country and the United States ; the more so, as the honour 
is now reserved for you to display your great abilities and in- 
tegrity by the completion and improvement of what Dr. Frank- 
lin had wisely begun. I have done then, what perhaps no other 
person would have undertaken under the same circumstances ; 
and while I have the consolation to hope that the United States 
will derive solid advantages from my journey and efforts here, 
I rest perfectly satisfied, that the interests of the brave men I 
commanded will experience in you parental attention, and that 
the American flag can lose none of its lustre, but the contrary, 
while its honour is confided to you. America being a young 
nation with an increasing commerce, which will naturally pro- 
duce a navy, I please myself with the hope, that in the treaty 
you are about to conclude with Denmark, you will find it easy 
and highly advantageous to include certain articles for admit- 
ting America into the armed neutrality. I persuade myself 
before-hand, that this would afford pleasure to the empress of 



390 PAUL JONES. 

Russia, who is at the head of that noble and humane combina- 
tion ; and as I shall now set out immediately for St. Petersburgh, 
I will mention the idea to her imperial majesty, and let you 
know her answer. 

" If Congress should think I deserve the promotion that was 
proposed when I was last in America, and should condescend to 
confer on me the grade of rear admiral, from the day I took the 
Serapis, (23d of September, 1779,) I am persuaded it would be 
very agreeable to the empress, who now deigns to offer me an 
equal rank in her service, although I never yet had the honour 
to draw my sword in her cause, nor to do any other act that 
could directly merit her imperial benevolence. While I express, 
in the warm effusion of a grateful heart, the deep sense I feel 
of my eternal obligation to you, as the author of the honourable 
prospect that is now before me, I must rely on your friendship 
to justify to the United States the important step I now take, 
conformable to your advice. You know I had no idea of this 
new fortune when I found that you had put it in train, before 
my last return to Paris from America. I have not forsaken a 
country, that has had many disinterested and difficult proofs of 
my steady affection ; and I can never renounce the glorious title 
of a citizen of the United States ! 

" It is true I have not the express permission of the sove- 
reignty, to accept the offer of her imperial majesty ; yet Ame- 
rica is independent, is in perfect peace, has no public employ- 
ment for my military talents ; but why should I excuse a con- 
duct which I should rather hope, would meet with general ap- 
probation ? In the latter part of the year J 782, Congress passed 
an Act for my embarkation in the fleet of his most christian ma- 
jesty ; and when, a few months ago, I left America to return to 
Europe, I was made the bearer of a letter to his most christian 
majesty, requesting me to be permitted to embark in the fleets 
of evolution. Why did Congress pass those Acts? To facilitate 
my improvement in the art of conducting fleets and military 
operations. I am then, conforming myself to the views of Con- 
gress ; but the roll allotted me, is infinitely more high and 



PAUL JONES. 301 

difficult than Congi-ess intended. Instead of receiving lessons 
from able masters, in the theory of war, I am called to imme- 
diate practice ; where I must command in chief, conduct the 
most difficult operations, be my own preceptor, and instruct 
others. Congress will allow me some merit in daring to en- 
counter such multiplied difficulties. The mark I mentioned of 
the approbation of that honourable body, would be extremely 
flattering to me in the career I am now to pursue, and would 
stimulate all my ambition to acquire the necessary talents to 
merit that, and even greater favours, at a future day. I pray 
you, sir, to explain the circumstances of my situation, and be 
the interpreter of my sentiments to the United States in Con- 
gress. I ask for nothing ; and beg leave to be understood only 
as having hinted, what is natural to conceive, that the mark 
of approbation I mentioned, could not fail to be infinitely ser- 
viceable to my views and success in the country where I am 
going. 

" The prince royal sent me a messenger, requesting me to 
come to his apartment. His royal highness said a great many 
civil things to me, told me the king thanked me for my atten- 
tion and civil behaviour to the Danish flag, while I commanded 
in the European seas ; and that his majesty wished for occa- 
sions to testify to me his personal esteem, <fcc. I was alone 
with the prince half an hour. I am with perfect esteem, &c." 

The hint that the empress would be pleased with his receiv- 
ing the honorary rank of rear admiral from his own govern- 
ment, was drawn forth in consequence of his not obtaining it in 
the first instance from Russia, upon which he had calculated, 
and meant, indirectly, to insist. In reply to Baron Krudner, he 
said : " I am extremely flattered by the obliging things ex- 
pressed in the- letter your excellency has done me the honour 
to write me yesterday. The very favourable sentiments with 
which my zeal for the cause of America, rather than my pro- 
fessional skill, has inspired her imperial majesty, fills me with 
an irresistible desire to merit the precious opinion with which 



392 PAUL JONES. 

her majesty deigns to honour me. Though I cannot conceive 
the reason why any difficulty should be made to my being ad- 
mitted into the marine of her imperial majesty as rear admiral, 
a rank to which I have some claim, and that it should at the 
same time be proposed to give me the grade of major general, 
to which I have no title, it is not my intention to withdraw from 
the engagement which you have formed in my name, in the 
letter you addressed your court on the 23d current. You will 
be convinced by the papers I have the honour to submit to your 
inspection, that I am not an adventurer in search of fortune. 
You will discover, I presume, that my talents have been con- 
siderable ; but that, loving glory, I am perhaps too much 
attached to honours, though personal interest is an idol to 
which I have never bowed the knee. The unbounded admira- 
tion and profound respect which I have long felt for the glorious 
character of her imperial majesty, forbids the idea that a sove- 
reign so magnanimous should sanction any arrangement that 
may give pain at the outset to the man she deigns to honour 
with her notice, and who wishes to devote himself entirely to 
her service. A conjoined command is hurtful, and often fatal 
in military operations. There is no military man who is so en- 
torely master of his })assions as to keep free of jealousy and its 
consequences on such occasions. Being an entire stranger, I 
have more to fear from a joint authority than any officer in her 
majesty's service. But I cannot conceive that her majesty 
could deem it expedient to divide the command in the Black Sea; 
and if the direction of the military department there is confided to 
an officer of sufficient capacity and experience, I can neither desire 
to interfere with his command, nor promise, with a detachment, 
which could not fail to excite his jealousy, to contribute much to 
the glory of her majesty's arms." 

Jones had particular reasons for disliking the subordinate 
command which was tendered to him. The Prince of Nassau- 
Siegen, who was now appointed to command the fleet of the 
empress in the Black Sea, had, as will be recollected, volun- 
teered to accompany him in the secret expedition against Eng- 



PAUL JONES. 393 

land in 1779, and abandoned his purpose, if it ever really 
existed, without even the civility of an apology. He took no 
notice of Jones' letters on the occasion. His subsequent naval 
services had been attended with no glory. He had been en- 
gaged in the attempt made by the French on the Island of Jer- 
sey, which failed altogether, and in the equally unsuccessful 
attack of Gibraltar by the French and Spanish forces. Jones 
had a poor opinion of his knowledge as a naval commander, or 
indeed of his courage. Such Vvas the rival, however, with 
whom he was now to be associated. 

At the court of Denmark, which he was now leaving, he had 
unquestionably been received with great distinction. He men- 
tions in a letter to the Marquis de La Fayette, written a few 
months afterwards, that ''Mr. Elliott, the same who filched Dr. 
Lee's papers at Berlin, was furious when he found out his 
business at Copenhagen. * * * * Every time," he says, " that I 
was invited to sup with the king, Elliott made an apology. He 
shut himself up for more than a month, and then left town. This 
occasioned much laughter ; and, as he had shunned society from 
the time of my arrival, people said he had gone off in a fright."* 
What seems a little extraordinary, this court shortly after Jones' 
departure, sent him a patent, granting him 1500 Danish crowns 
annually, " for the respect he had shown to the Danish flag, while 
he had commanded in the north seas. It was undoubtedly 
offered with the double purpose of pleasing the empress and 
propitiating the American government. Jones did not under- 
stand the propriety of this gift at the time, and makes no men- 



* Mr. Gilbert Elliott, the English minister at Copenhagen. In Tooke's Life of the 
Empress Catharine II. (p. 331, Vol. III. Amer. ed.) he says that this functionary- 
quitted Copenhagen, and crossed Sweden in great haste, to summon the Danish prince, 
Charles of Hesse, to raise the siege of Gotenburg, which he was carrying on, in 
pursuance of the engagements of the court of Copenhagen with Russia, with which 
power Sweden was now at war; and threatened the vengeance of England if he did 
not evacuate the territory without delay. This cannot be identical with the sudden 
departure referred to by Jones, and must have been subsequent to his leaving St. 
fetersburgh. 

49 



394 PAUL JONES. 

tion of it in his correspondence with his American friends at 
that period. Three years after, he found it convenient to avail 
himself of it ; but he then found, that like the promises in rela- 
tion to the prize money, it v/as but an unmeaning compliment. 

His journey to the capital of Russia was an extraordinary 
one. We shall give his own account of it in his journal. He 
says to La Fayette : " The empress received me with a dis- 
tinction the most flattering that perhaps any stranger can boast 
of. On entering into the Russian service, her majesty con- 
ferred on me immediately the grade of rear admiral. I was 
detained against my will a fortnight, and continually feasted at 
court, and in the first society. This was a cruel grief to the 
Enghsh, and I own that their vexation, which I believe was 
general in and about St. Petersburgh, gave me no pain. You 
would be charmed with Prince Potemkin. He is a most amiable 
man, and none can be more noble-minded. For the empress, 
fame has never yet done her justice. I am sure that no stran- 
ger who has not known that illustrious character, ever conceived 
how much her majesty is made to reign over a great empire, 
to make people happy, and to attach grateful and susceptible 
minds. Is not the present a happy moment for France to de- 
clare for Russia ?" 

Such were the first expressions of pleasure and exultation 
which his reception at this brilliant court, and immediate ap- 
pointment drew from him. It is a very long inference and an 
erroneous one, which one of his biographers has drawn from 
them, that his regard for, or devotionto America was diminished. 
His uniform professions are entitled to full credit, that he gloried 
most in being a citizen of the United States ; while he would 
never be engaged in hostile operations against France. And 
the letter to which we are referring, to La Fayette, is devoted 
principally to the prospects and policy of his adopted country ; 
the advantage she would derive from joining in the armed neu- 
trality, the commerce she might carry on with Russia, her new 
constitution, and the danger lie apprehended, in common with 



PAUL JONES. 395 

Count Bernstorf, from the president being made commander 
in chief of the army, &,c. 

He was, indeed, in full vogue at St. Petersburgh.* Every 
attention was shown to him by the French minister at that 
court, and he was waited upon by all the members of the dif- 
ferent legations, and the principal Russian nobles, as appears 
from the notes preserved among his papers. The jealousy of 
the English officers was indeed great, and openly expressed, 
as is mentioned in the subjoined note ; but it did not affect 
his immediate and triumphant elevation to the rank of contre- 
arniral, Tooke, in his life of Catharine II. t speaking of him 
with all his national prejudice, as an " English pirate and 
renegade," says that, " not meeting with the consideration he 
expected in America, he made a tender of his services to the 
court of St. Petersburgh, &c. that the British officers, appli- 
cants for employment, went in a body, to the amount of near 
thirty, to lay down their commissions ; declaring it was impos- 
sible to serve under him, or to act with him in any measure 
or capacity." All this, however, did not move the empress ; 
and Tooke, if he knew any thing about them, does not make 
any mention of the services of Jones in the campaign of 
Liman ; an omission which tends to throw discredit on many of 
his other statements. 



* The following is an extract of a letter from St. Petersburgh, which appeared at 
this time in an Edinburgh paper. 

" Paul Jones arrived iiere a few days ago. He was presented to the sovereign by the 
French ambassador, and immediately promoted to tlie rank of admiral. He is to set 
out soon to take the command of a squadron in the Black Sea. I had the satisfaction 
to see this honest man while he was examining one of our dock yards. He is a well 
made man of a middle size ; he wears a French uniform with the cross of St. Louis 
and a Danish order, which he received at Copenhagen, where he had the honour to 
dine with the king ; he has also received since he came here, one of the first orders of 
merit in this country, so that it is to be feared they will spoil him by making too much 
of him. The English officers in this service have presented a memorial to Admiral 
Greig refusing to serve with Jones, and threatening to throw up their commissions. 
Whether they will stand to their text, it is difficult to say, but they have acted very 
spiritedly so far. 

t Vol. HI. p. 321. Am. Ed. 



396 J PAUL JONES. 

In a letter written to Jones at this time by Mr. Framery, 
secretary of legation at Copenhagen, we find the following 
passages. 

" It is to be believed you are yet at St. Petersburgh. ,1 will 
learn with increased gratification, your arrival in this capital, as 
reports are in circulation here that you have perished in a storm, 
in the Gulf of Finland, but as the relation of this pretended mis- 
fortune changes every day, I am still persuaded that it exists 
only in the mouths of evil disposed persons, who first forged and 
spread the account. My good wishes accompany you in every 
part of the world, animated by the remembrance of the friend- 
ship you expressed for me when at Copenhagen. The Baron 
de la Houze to whom I mentioned that I was about to write to 
you, has charged me to renew to you the assurance of the sen- 
timents of esteem and real attachment with which you have 
inspired him. He is so far from giving credence to the report 
which I have mentioned, that he awaits by the arrival of every 
courier, the letter which you promised to write him, as soon as 
you had reached your port of destination." 

Jones received before his departure from St. Petersburgh, 
the following letter and enclosure from the empress. 

From the Empress Catharine to Rear Admiral Paul Jones, 

" Sir, 

" A courier from Paris has just brought from my envoy in 
France, M. de Simolin, the enclosed letter to Count Besborod- 
ko.* As I believe that this letter may help to confirm to you 
what I have already told you verbally, I have sent it, and beg 
you to return it, as I have not even made a copy be taken, so 
anxious am I that you should see it. I hope that it will efface 
all doubts from your mind, and prove to you that you are to be 
connected only with those who are most favourably disposed 
towards you. I have no doubt but that on your side you will 



♦ Russian Minister for the Home Department. 



PAUL JONES. 397 

fully justify the opinion which we have formed of you, and 
apply yourself with zeal to support the reputation, and the 
name you have acquired for valour and skill on the element in 
which you are to serve. 

" Adieu, I wish you happiness and health, 

" Catharine." 

Extract of the Letter from M. de Simolin to Count de Besborodko, 

enclosed in the above. 

" The letter with which your excellency favoured me on the 
16th February, was delivered by Mr. Poliranoff. By it I was 
informed of the resolution of her imperial majesty, on the subject 
of the engagement with the Chevalier Paul Jones ; and the 
same day Lieutenant Colonel de Baner, who was despatched 
from St. Elizabeth by Prince Potemkin on the 9th of March, 
brought me two letters, the subject of one of which was the said 
Chevalier Jones, whom he requested me to induce to repair to 
his head-quarters as quickly as possible, that he might employ 
his talents at the opening of the campaign ; and to assure him 
that in entering the service, he, (Potemkin,) would do all that 
depended on him to make his situation pleasant and advanta- 
geous, and certainly procure for him occasions in which he 
might display his skill and valour."* 

The following is a translation of part of a letter, written to 
Count Segur, on Jones' arrival at St. Elizabeth : " I was re- 
ceived with much cordiality by Prince Potemkin, and have re- 
ceived very great attentions from every body during the day and 
two nights which I have spent here. I find the prince a very 
amiable man. I am much pleased with him, and greatly desire 
to merit his regard. The Prince de Ligne was absent ; but 
M. le Chevalier and Brigadier Ribas has undertaken to attend 
to the delivery of all the letters of which I was the bearer. A 
thousand compliments, [ pray you, to the Grand Ecuyer, to ma- 

• " Has he kept his word?" is the commentary made m the margin of this lettec 
at a subsequent period. 



398 PAUL JONES. 

dame, to the fair Countess of Salloub, the charming Marie, and 
all the amiable ladies whom I had the honour of seeing at St. 
Petersburgh. The prince has told me that his charming niece 
would visit these coasts before going to Italy. I should be de- 
lighted to see her. She is a very interesting person. 

" I shall write to the empress, who has addressed to me a let- 
ter full of goodness, but I shall never be able to express how 
much greater I find her than fame reports. With the charac- 
ter of a very great man, she will be always adored as the most 
amiable and captivating of the fair sex. 

" As to yourself, my dear count, you have treated me with a 
kindness and friendship so precious to my heart, that I am sure 
you will render justice to the sentiments which your conduct to- 
wards me must produce in a soul of sensibility, which has loved 
you for a long time past. I therefore address to you no com- 
pliments, nor to M. de Genet, whos6 father was one of the men 
for whom I had the greatest attachment. 

" I shall write to General de MomonofF, who is a very agree- 
able man, and whose regard I desire to merit. After having 
had a Te Deum sung to-day, we have drunk her majesty's 
health in the good wine of which you made me a present." 

War had been impending between Russia and the Porte, since 
the disturbances in the Crimea, in 1777, occasioned by the elec- 
tion of a Khan, in which the former interfered to support one of 
the candidates, with the ultimate view of dispossessing him en- 
tirely. The empress, encouraged by her eccentric and over- 
bearing favourite and general, Potemkin, in the ambitious desire 
of being crowned at Constantinople, never lost sight of this in- 
tention. The foundations of the city of Cherson were only laid 
in 1783, and in a very short time it counted 40,000 inhabitants, 
and ships of war were launched from its yards. This advantage 
increased the cupidity of the Autocrat, and the invasion of the 
Crimea was determined upon, as a necessary preliminary to 
operations against Turkey. A pretext was soon found, in the 
dissentions between the Tartar princes, and the usurpation took 



PAUL JONES. 399 

place effectually, though the Khan was left for a short time 
with nominal authority. At the same time Potemkin and Su- 
vorrof subdued and received the homage of the tribes of the 
Kuban, and the extensive wilds more remote. A manifesto 
was published to justify these unprovoked acts, and the annex- 
ation of those districts to the empire. The Porte replied in an 
able answer, but did not yet appeal to arms ; which was what 
the empress wished for. England urged the divan to the mea- 
sure, but the influence of France and Austria, and oriental in- 
dolence, prevailed against the advice. By a new treaty the 
sovereignty of Russia over the Crimea, and great part of Ku- 
ban, with the right of the dominion of the Euxine, and to the 
passage of the Dardanelles, was conceded to Russia. New 
usurpations followed immediately on the part of the latter. In 
1786, Catharine projected a magnificent progress to the Euxine, 
where, after having solemnly taken the sceptre of the Khan, it 
was her intention to conduct her young grandson, Constantine. 
to the gates of that city, with reference to whose contemplated 
destiny he had been named. His sickness prevented this part 
of the project from being executed ; and the progress, though 
splendid, was not conducted on so grand a scale as had been at 
first proposed. She was attended by the existing favourite 
Momonoff, the Grand Ecuyer Narichkin, others of the Russian 
nobility and courtiers, the ambassadors of France and Austria, 
and the English envoy. She was joined at Kieff by Prince 
Potemkin, and the Prince Nassau-Siegen, who seems to have 
won favour for himself on the occasion. In the beginning of 
the spring she embarked with a numerous and brilliant retinue, 
the king of Poland being in company, and the emperor of 
Austria joining her on the route. The divan were uneasy at 
this visitation ; and while the empress was at Cherson, four of 
their ships of the line anchored at the mouth of the Dnieper, 
though not with actual hostile intentions. The empress re- 
turned, and Potemkin, who longed for the grand ribbon of the 
order of St. George, had not yet effected his object of forcing 
the Turks to act first on the oft'ensive. No means were left un 



400 PAUL JONES. 

tried. The consul in Moldavia stirred up insurrections : the Rus- 
sian ships abused their privileges conceded by the Porte ; a cor- 
respondence was formed with Egypt, and intrigues were carried 
on with the Greeks of Smyrna. The troubles in Georgia were 
fomented by the protection given to Prince Heraclius. These 
and various other grievances led to the presentation on the 26th 
July, 1787, of a memorial from the grand vizier, and reis ef- 
fendi, to the French minister ; to which an immediate answer 
was requested. The ambassador asked for time to consult 
his court, which was granted. But the influence of Great 
Britain now predominated, and war was declared before any 
answer was received from Russia. Eighty thousand men were 
ordered to march to cover Oczakow. A large army advanced 
to the Danube ; and a squadron of 16 ships of the line, 8 
frigates, and several gallies entered the Euxine under the com- 
mand of the capitan-pacha. The Greeks were disarmed, and 
the Tartars invited to return to their allegiance to the grand 
seignior. They complied with the call, and their Shah had soon 
under his orders an army of 40,000 men. 

This news was received with joy at St. Petersburgh. A fleet 
of 8 ships of the line, 12 frigates, and near 200 chebeks or gun- 
boats was equipped in the Euxine, and two squadrons command- 
ed by admirals Kruse and Greig were in readiness at Cronstadt 
to sail for the Mediterranean. Joseph II. the ally of the em- 
press, sent 80,000 Austrians on their march to Moldavia, and 
the empress published manifestos to assert the justice of her 
cause. Hostile operations on the part of Sweden, which it is 
unnecessary here to dwell upon, gave a check to the exultation 
at St. Petersburgh, which was left defenceless ; and the appear- 
ance of the Swedish fleet off" Cronstadt occasioned a recall of 
the sailing orders given to the Russian admirals there. At this 
period, Tooke says that the remonstrance of the English ofiicers ^ 
occasioned a recall of the appointment of Jones to a command 
in the Cronstadt fleet ; for which assertion there is no authority 
whatever. 

It has been thought proper to introduce the Journal of Ad- 



PAUL JONES. 401 

miral Jones by the foregoing brief account, (from the history 
of Catharine II.) of previous events, and of the circumstances 
attending his entering into the Russian service. This Journal 
was prepared by himself, and arranged vt^ith the accompanying 
documents for his own vindication ; but was, unwisely perhaps, 
not published by him during his lifetime. If he sometimes 
speaks in terms of bitterness of those with whom he acted, it 
will be found that he had but too much cause to complain of 
them. He was treated with caprice ; his due honours were 
sought to be wrested from him ; he was sent back from the fleet 
cavalierly, and he was foully slandered. Over all this he 
triumphed in the issue completely ; but his health and spirits 
were irretrievably affected by the ignoble and ungenerous per- 
secution. 

A copy of this Journal handsomely engrossed in the French 
language, followed by ninety-three Pieces Justificatives is before 
the compiler. Reference will be made to the latter, where it 
seems necessary. 

Avant-Propos of the Rear Admiral. 

" The United States of America having charged me with a 
mission of a political nature to the court of Denmark, and 
having at the same time furnished me with a letter to deliv^er 
personally to his most christian majesty, Louis XVI. I embark- 
ed at New York on the 11th November, J 787, in an American 
vessel bound for Holland, the captain of which agreed to land 
me in France. 

" After a voyage of a month, I landed at Dover, in England, 
not being able to get ashore in France. From Dover I went to 
London, where I saw the minister of the United States. I 
passed some days with my friends there, and went to Covent 
Garden Theatre. I afterwards set out for Paris, where I ar- 
rived on the 20th December. 

" Mr. Jeff*erson, the ambassador of the United States, visited 
me on the night of my arrival, and informed me that M. de 

50 



402 PAUL JONES. 

Simolin, minister plenipotentiary of her imperial majesty of all 
the Russias, had often spoken of me while I was in America, 
and appeared anxious to succeed in prevailing on me to go to 
Russia, to command the fleet against the Turks in the Black 
Sea. I regarded this proposal as a castle in the air ; and as I 
did not wish for any employment in foreign service, I avoided 
meeting M. de Simolin, for whose character I had, at the same 
time, the highest respect. 

"As the letter, of which I was the bearer to the king of 
France, concerned myself alone, my friends advised me not to 
seek an interview with his majesty before my return from Den- 
mark. In that letter the United States requested his majesty 
to permit me to embark in his fleet of evolutions, to complete 
my knowledge of naval tactics, and of military and maritime 
operations upon the great scale. 

" Speaking to a man of very high rank at Paris, I repeated 
to him what had been communicated to me by Mr. Jefferson. 
He replied, that ' he would advise me to go to Constantinople 
at once rather than enter the service of Russia.' 

" On the 1st of February, 1788, at the moment of my de- 
parture from Paris, I received a note from Mr. Littlepage, 
chamberlain to the king of Poland, earnestly requesting me to 
breakfast with him next morning, as he had matters of the 
utmost importance to communicate to me. I went to him that 
same night, and he told me that M. de Simolin had the great- 
est desire to converse with me before my departure, and that 
he calculated on breakfasting with us next day. 

*' M. de Simolin said the most polite and obliging things to 
nie ; that, having known me well by reputation whilst he was 
ambassador in England, and since he had come to France, he 
had already proposed me to his sovereign as commander of the 
fleet in the Black Sea, <fcc. and that he expected her imperial 
majesty would make me proposals in consequence. I did not 
yet look upon the aflTair as serious ; but I was much flattered 
with the politeness of M. de Simolin, and endeavoured to ex- 
press to him my sense of it. When he had left the house, Mr. 



PAUL JONES. 403 

Littlepage assured me that he had written to his court, that 
'if her imperial majesty confided to me the chief command 
of her fleet on the Black Sea, with carte blanche, he would an- 
swer for it that in less than a year I should make Constanti- 
nople tremble.' 

" In Denmark I put in train a treaty between that power 
and the United States ; but it was interrupted by the arrival of 
a courier from St. Petersburgh, despatched express by the em- 
press, to invite me* to repair to her court. 

" Though I foresaw many difficulties* in the way of my en- 
tering the service of Russia, I believed that I could not avoid 
going to St. Petersburgh, to thank the empress for the favoura- 
ble opinion she had conceived of me. I transferred the treaty 
going forward at Copenhagen to Paris, to be concluded there, 
and set out for St. Petersburgh by Sweden. At Stockholm I 
staid but one night, to see Count Rasoumorsky. Want of time 
prevented me from appearing at court. 

" At Gresholm I was stopj)ed by the ice, which prevented me 
from crossing the Gulf of Bothnia, and even from approaching 
the first of the isles in the passage. After having made several 
unsuccessful efl;brts to get to Finland by the isles, I imagined 
that it might be practicable to effect my object by doubling the 
ice to the southward, and entering the Baltic Sea. 

" This enterprise was very daring, and had never before been 
attempted; but by the north the roads were impracticable, and, 
knowing that the empress expected me from day to day, I could 
not think of going back by Elsineur. 

" I left Gresholm early one morning, in an undecked passage 
boat, about thirty feet in length. I made another boat follow. 



+ Two letters are here referred to, one of which is from Baron Krudner to Jones, 
informing him that he had communicated to the empress, Jones' acceptance of the 
grade of captain commandant with the rank of major general in her service. It is 
dated March 22d. The other is Jones' reply on the following day, which has heen 
inserted. The " difficulties" referred to are, partly that he drought himself entitled 
to the rank of rear admiral, but chiefly that he apprehended inconvenience and dis- 
agreements from a joint command. 



404 PAUL JONES. 

of half that size. This last was for dragging over the cakes of 
ice, and for passing from one to another, to gain the coast of 
Finland. I durst not make my project known to the boatmen, 
which would have been the sure means of deterring them from 
it. After endeavouring, as before, to gain the first isle, I made 
them steer for the south, and we kept along the coast of Swe- 
den all the day, finding with difficulty room enough to pass be- 
tween the ice and the shore. Towards night, being almost 
opposite Stockholm, pistol in hand, I forced the boatmen toenter 
the Baltic Sea, and steer to the east. We ran towards the coast 
of Finland. All night the wind was fair, and we hoped to land 
next day. This we found impossible. The ice did not permit 
us to api)roach the shore, which we only saw from a distance. It 
was impossible to regain the Swedish side, the wind being strong 
and directly contrary. I had no other course to adopt but to 
make for the Gulf of Finland. There was a small compass in 
the boat, and I fixed the lamp of my travelling carriage so as to 
throw a light on it. 

" On the second night we lost the small boat, which was sunk ; 
but the men saved themselves in the large one, which with diffi- 
cidty escaped the same fate. At the end of four days we landed 
at Reval, in Livonia, which was regarded as a kind of miracle. 
Having satisfied the boatmen for their services and their loss, I 
gave them a good pilot, with the provisions necessary for making 
their homeward voyage, when the weather should become more 
favourable. 

" I arrived at St. Petersburgh in the evening on the 23d of 
April, old style, and on the 25th had my first audience of the 
empress. Her majesty gave me so flattering a reception, and 
up to the period of my departure treated me with so much dis- 
tinction, that I was entirely captivated, and put myself into her 
hands without making any stipulation for my personal advan- 
tage. I demanded but one favour, ' that she would never con- 
demn without hearing me.' 

" On the 7th May, I set out from the imperial palace of Sars- 
cosello carrying with me a letter from her majesty to his high- 



PAUL JONES. 405 

ness the Prince Marshal Potemkin at St. Elizabeth, where I 
arrived on 19th. The prince marshal received me with much 
kindness, and destined me the command of the fleet of Sevas- 
tapol against the capitan pacha, who, he supposed, intended to 
make descents in the Crimea. His highness was mistaken in 
this, and the next day he received information that the capitan 
pacha was at anchor within Kinbourn, having come to succour 
Oczakow with a hundred and twenty armed vessels and other 
armed craft. 

" The prince marshal then, requested me to assume com- 
mand of the naval force stationed in the Liman, (which is^ at 
the embouchure of the Dnieper,) to act against the capitan 
pacha till Oczakow should fall. 1 considered this change as a 
mark of confidence flattering to myself; and having received my 
orders, I set out on the same day for Cherson, in company with 
the Chevalier de Ribas, Brigadier du Jour of the prince mar- 
shal. He was ordered to make all the arrangements necessary 
to place me in command. At parting, the prince marshal pro- 
mised me ' to bring forward his troops without loss of time, to 
co-operate with the maritime force he had intrusted to my com- 
mand ;' and on the journey M. de Ribas told me, 'that all the 
force of the Liman, comprehending that of the prince of Nas- 
sau, would be under my orders.' 

" I spent but one evening and night at Cherson. But even 
this short period was enough to show that I had entered on a 
critical and disagreeable service. Rear Admiral Mordwinoff", 
chief of the admiralty, did not affect to disguise his displeasure 
at my arrival ; and though he had orders from the prince mar- 
shall to communicate to me all the details concerning the force 
in the Liman, and to put me in possession of the silk flag be- 
longing to my rank as rear admiral, he gave himself not the 
least trouble to comply therewith. 

" We set out early next morning for Glouboca, the armament 
of the Liman being at anchor very near that place, in the roads 
of Schiroque, between the bar of the Dnieper and the embou- 
chure of the river Bog. We went on board the Wolodimer 



406 PAUL JONES. 

before mid-day, where we found that Brigadier Alexiano had 
assembled all the commanders, to draw them into a cabal against 
my authority. I may mention here, that this man was a Greek 
by birth, as ignorant of seamanship as of military affairs ; who, 
under an exterior and manners the most gross, concealed infi- 
nite cunning; and, by an imjjertinent roughness of discourse, had 
the address to pass for a blunt honest man. Though a subject 
of Turkey, it was alleged that he made war with the Mussul- 
mans by attacking their commerce in the Archipelago on his 
own authority, and that he had followed this means of enriching 
himself up to the period that Count D'Orloff arrived with the 
Russian fleet. Though I do not aflirm the fact, several per- 
sons of credit have assured me that there are often pirates who 
infest the coast, and the isles between Constantinople and Egypt, 
who attack the commerce of all nations, and run down the ves- 
sels after having seized the cargoes and cut the throats of the 
crews. Alexiano had been employed by Count D'Orloff. He 
had reached the grade of captain do haut hard, with the rank 
of brigadier. He felt his spirits ruffled in the first instance, and 
afterwards made great merit with the ])rince marshal, of the 
sacrifice which he affected to make in serving under me. He 
said that, if he withdrew, all the other officers would do the 
same. The prince marshal sent presents to his wife, and wrote 
him kindly, persuading him to remain in the service. All the 
objections he made were bravadoes, to enable himself to make 
something out of the difficulty ; for, from what followed, I know 
that, had he left the service, it would have been alone, and that 
no one would have regretted his absence. 

" To give time to those angry spirits to become calm, and to 
be able to decide on the part I should take, I proposed to Briga- 
dier de Ribas, that we should together make a journey to Kin- 
bourn, to see the entrance of Dnieper and reconnoitre the posi- 
tion and strength of the Turkish fleet and flotilla. At my 
return all the officers appeared contented, and I hoisted my 
flag on board the Wolodimer on the 26th of May, 1788. 

" The prince of Nassau-Siegen, whom I had known slightly 



PAUL JONES. 407 

at Paris, told me, ' that if we gained any advantage over the 
Turks, it was necessary to exaggerate it to the utmost ; and 
that this was the counsel the Chevelier de Ribas had given him.' 
I replied, ' that I never had adopted that method of making 
myself of consequence.' " 

Extract of a Journal of the Campaign in the Liman, in 1788. 

" At the opening of this campaign the squadron of Cherson 
was obliged to remain for two days in the road of Schiroque, till 
the troops should embark which were to form part of the crew. 
The prince of Nassau,* who had been appointed commander of 
the flotilla, and who had by this time received on board the 
troops intended for him, durst not venture to advance four or 
five verstes to take station opposite to the Bog, without being 
escorted by three frigates. The prince of Nassau made so many 
objections to the danger of his situation,t that on the 28th of 



* In a letter from Potemkin, dated at St. Elizabeth, on the 30th May, (all the dates 
quoted are old style,) he expresses the greatest pleasure at learning from Chevalier 
Ribas, that harmony was established between the rear admiral and the prince. " I 
regard," he said, " this concert, as the basis of all the good services which your talents 
and acknowledged courage enable you both to render to my country." A few days 
proved how unstable this basis was. 

f Three notes from Nassau are inserted in the Pieces Justificatives ; dated succes- 
sively, on the 28th, 29th, and 30th of this month, (May.) In the first, he says, he shall 
see the rear admiral (" my dear general," he calls him) arrive, with great pleasure. 
He says, that the strong gale that harrassed the fleet was lucky for them, as it prevent- 
ed the Turks from attacking him ; in which case he would have been compelled to 
retreat. " I reckon upon you, at farthest, during the course of the day. You know, 
my dear general, my esteem and friendship. It will end only with my life." In the 
second, he begs, that if Jones could not join him, he would send two hundred grena- 
diers, which were under his (Nassau's) command ; as it would be better that the troops 
should not be mixed. The bad grammar and worse spelling of the prince is scrupu- 
lously adhered to in those transcripts. The originals are before me ; the last is least in- 
correct, and as it is brief, it may be amusing. " Je vous envois mon cher general, les 
deux reponces de M"'. de Souvorrow, qu'il m'a ervcoyis ouverts. Je vous prie de me 
mander ce que vous fer6s, etant decid6, puisque j'eu ai la libert6, a ne marcher que 
lorsque vous me protegeois." In his hand writing, also, the prince was a rival of 
Buonaparte. 



408 PAUL JONES. 

May, the day following, Rear Admiral Chevalier Paul Jones, 
commander of the squadron, reinforced him with a fourth 
frigate. 

" On the 29th, the troops being all on board, the squadron 
advanced, and got beyond the flotilla, which lay scattered about 
at anchor without any observance of order. The squadron 
drew up opposite the first village, to the west of the Bog, in an 
obtuse angle, and thus commanded, by a cross fire, the only 
passage of the Liman. This lies between two sand banks, 
through which the Turks must advance with their heavy ves- 
sels. By this position the rear admiral covered Cherson, and 
the country on both banks of the Liman, made good the free 
passage of the Bog to the army of the prince marshal, and held 
the Turks in check in any attempt they might make against 
Kinbourn. 

" The prince of Nassau at this time-talked a great deal of 
projects of descents, surprises, and attacks, but without any 
rational plan. 

" A battery having been raised upon the point of Stanislaus, 
the prince of Nassau could not help exclaiming, ' that he was 
delighted with it, as in case of necessity he might there find 
shelter.' He was not ignorant that the rear admiral could not 
have retreated, as several of his vessels were already within a 
few inches of getting aground. The rear admiral was aware 
that the Turks, having a very superior force, would not give any 
opportunity of attacking them ; and that it was therefore neces- 
sary to maintain the strong position he had taken, till the 
the arrival of Prince Potemkin. in order to advance in concert, 
and combine their operations with those of the land forces. 

" In the meanwhile General Suvorrof, commandant of Kin- 
bourn, made the rear admiral responsible for the safety of that 
place ;* while Brigadier Alexiano and the prince of Nassau or 



* On the 31st, there is a letter from Jones to Ribas, informing him that the Prince 
de Nassau asserted that he had carte blanche. " I was surprised," he says, " at hear- 
ing him talk this morning of advancing. He held a different language one or two days 



PAUL JONES. 409 

their part, did all that was possible to make him distrustful of 
the means which he possessed for attack or defence. They 
alleged, that the vessels forming the flotilla, having been con- 
structed merely to convey the carriages of the empress in her 
late progress, might be expected, at the first attack, to sink 
under the enormous weight of the guns. 

" The squadron had a formidable appearance, but little real 
strength. The Wolodimer and the Alexander were but half 
armed; and both vessels were already within a few inches of 
touching the bottom, so shallow is the Liman for vessels of war. 
In this most critical situation, having no orders from his high- 
ness the prince marshal for his guidance, and knowing nothing 
of his intentions, nor of the actual position of his army, the rear 
admiral resolved on assembling a council of war, in conformity 
to the ordinance of Peter the Great. The council he opened 
by a speech suited to the occasion, the main object of which was 
to show the necessity of a perfect understanding between the 



since, when he wanted to retreat, under a false alarm. Should we receive the least 
check, it may derange or render impracticable the attack on Oczakow. Kinbourn has 
not been attacked, and cannot, in my opinion, be in any danger, if the army of Prince 
Potemkin has passed the Bog. which, after hi* highness' promise, I have a right to 
suppose. The Tnrks will find work enough on the other side." On the same day, 
there is a note from Suvorrof to .lones, throwing upon him the responsibilitj' spoken 
of in the text. It is rather characteristic. " Your excellency — I have not received 
llie copy of his highness Prince Potemkin's^rders for you. You will see my whole 
opinion in a letter to the prince of Nassau, as you are acting with him. You are well 
enough, with the two squadrons, but you know well that, under the circumstances, the 
Radical of the operations regards Kinbourn, a principal, efficacious, and unequivocal 
point, and one on which all our cares and pains should be directed. It is plausible 
enough to wait for the approach of the land army. In the meanwhile, 1 cannot 
answer for results. Enough said, for a soldier who has never been a seaman. Ever 
your excellency's humble and obedient servant, Alexandre Suvorrof" Jones says in 
a note : " I beg the general's pardon ; but the Radical regarded Cherson ; and the 
capitan pacha had too much sense not to prefer it to such a place as Kinbourn, which 
he could easily have taken afterwards." In communicating copies of Suvorrof's 
letters to the Chevalier Ribas, for the inspection of Potemkin, Jones begged for ex- 
plicit orders, " in order that there might be no mistake among so many commanders ; 
each of whom believed himself independent of the others ; which might lead to 
mischievous consequences." 

51 



410 PAUL JONES. 

squadron and the flotilla ; and that, uniting heart and hand, 
forgetting all personal considerations, they should determine to 
conquer, as the true glory of a patriot was to be useful to his 
country.* 

"He proposed to them nine questions. It was decided, to act 
together, mingle together, in one and the same order of battle ; 
that if the wind should be from a point from N. to S. E. the 
prince should detach a part of the flotilla, at 1 A. M. and 
should be supported at day break by the squadron of the rear 
admiral, to cut off the retreat of the enemy's small craft which 
were near the first village east of Oczakow ; and that the best 
positiont for the squadron and flotilla, in the Liman, to cover 



* There is a proces verbal of this council, No. 83, of the Pieces Justificatives. The 
following is preserved as the address of the rear admiral : " Gentlemen — Having been 
suddenly called to serve her imperial majesty, I have need of double indulgence, being 
as yet ignorant of the language and customs of the country. I confess I mistrust my 
capacity properly to discharge all the duties of the high trust with which her majesty 
has honoured me ; but I rely on my zeal, and on your favour, co-operation, and candid 
advice, for the good of the service. You are met, gentleman, on serious business. We 
are to discuss points which touch nearly the honour of the Russian flag, and the interests 
of her majesty. We have to deal with a formidable enemy ; but if we are united 
and of one mind in all our efforts, if our operations are well concerted and vigorously 
executed, the known cournge of Russians, the cause of the empress and of the country, 
and the remembrance of so many past victories afford us the most flattering hope of 
success, and cannot fail to inspire invincible resolution. We must resolve to conquer. 
Let us join our hands and our hearts. Let us show that our feelings are noble, and 
cast far from us all personal considerations. Honour enough may be gained by every 
individual ; but the true glory of a citizen is to be useful to his country." The ques- 
tions follow, on three of which only resolutions were passed, as stated in the Journal. 

t Jones says in a note : " This was not the rear admiral's opinion ;" and refers to a 
letter written by him to the Prince de Nassau on the 1st June. In this he says : " If 
you will show me a more advantageous position than that which I have taken, I will 
change my plan with pleasure, and adopt yours. If you think my duty requires me to 
attack the Turkish fleet under existing circumstances, [It was then ranged under the 
cannon of Oczakow. — Note hy Jones.'\ I ask you if I must not wait, to conquer it? 
Who will justify me, if, on my own motion, and witliout any necessity, or waiting for 
sure news of the position of the army of Prince Potemkin, I should expose the squadron 
to be burned or captured ? Do you believe the enemy will dare attempt a descent on 
this side of Kinbourn, to find himself between two fires ? Last year's experience 
proves that he will run no risks on the other side ; and that thie garrison is too strong, 



PAFL JONES. 411 

Kinbourn and act on tlie defensive, until the approach of the 
army under Prince Potemkin, was four verstes farther in advance, 
opposite the first village east of Oczakow, in a straight line, N. 
N.E. S.S.W. The batteries in the spaces between the ships, 
and a corps of reserve, composed of a division of the flotilla, to 
cover the right wing. The council was t6 have met again next 
day, to decide on the other points which the rear admiral had 
to propose ; among which was the best manner of attack and 
defence, and the general arrangement of signals, which ought 
all, in his opinion, to be made on board of the same vessel ; but 
M. de Nassau and the Brigadier Alexiano op[)osed this, and the 
council did not re-assemble as proposed. 

" On the 6th of .Tune, at 2 in the morning, the prince of 
Nassau advanced, as had been previously agreed on, with the 
greater part of the flotilla ; but, in place of cutting oflf the re- 
treat of the vessels forming the enemy's advanced guard, he 
retired at day break before a very inferior force, and without 
off'ering the smallest resistance ; and the Turks chased him, 
keeping up a cannonade, into the midst of the squadron, which 
had advanced to take the position assigned to them. 

" The precipitate retreat of the prince of Nassau inspirited 
the Turks so much, that during the night between the 6th and 
7th, they drew up their flotilla in two divisions, in a shallow, 
close by their own shore. The first of these divisions had by 



and its generals skillful enough to repel an attack of 10,000 men. But, should the 
squadron which I have the honour to command, be destroyed, I need not suggest to 
you, that the Bog, Cherson, &c. would be open to the assaults of the enemy. I wish 
with alt my heart, thai your higlme&s would place one or two batteries under the walls 
of Kinbourn to reinforce the place. [General Suvorrof had earne.<tly asked for this 
and I should have been glad to gratify liini.-^A'ip^c by Jimes.Ji But you must perceive, 
that it is impossible for me to give you an escort up to the batteries of Kinbourn, with- 
out first conquering the Turkish fleet. My instructions are, to protect Kinbourn, which 
I think I am doing at this moment. If I advance, I shnll find myself in a position 
much weaker, with no advantage which I can apprehend. Our force in row boats is 
greatly superior to the Turks, and we can at any lime go to the assistance of Kinbourn, 
though the wind should be contrary." 



412 PAUL JONES. 

day dawn advanced within cannon shot of our reserve, which 
had been posted the previous night on the right wing. 

" At sunrise the Turks made sail ; and Brigadier Alexiano 
ran upon the deck of the Wolodimer half naked, exclaiming like a 
frantic man, in French and Russian, that the Turks were going 
to attack and board us, and that we would be blown to pieces for 
having been so foolish as to leave our former position. He had^ 
notwithstanding, in the council of war, given his voice in favour 
of the position we now actually held. Brigadier Ribas, the 
captain, and all the crew, were witnesses of his extravagant 
and unjustifiable behaviour. 

" This proved a false alarzn ; the Turkish fleet did not stir. 

" The prince of Nassau came on board the Wolodimer, and 
the rear admiral proposed to him to reconnoitre the enemy's 
fleet and flotilla. As they advanced together, the first division 
of the Turkish flotilla began to fire from their canoes, and 
raised their anchors and rowed forward towards our reserve, 
which they attacked briskly. At the same time several corps 
of Turkish troops advanced along the opposite bank, as if they 
intended to establish a post or battery to act on our flank. As 
our reserve had been posted to cover our right wing, the prince 
of Nassau, who knew not what to do, proposed to make it draw 
up in the form of a crochet de houlctte, the better to sustain the 
assault. The rear admiral told him, that on the contrary, it 
was necessary to lift the anchors with the utmost despatch, and 
to form in line of battle to meet the attack of the Turks. The 
combat having commenced according to this plan, the rear ad- 
miral hastened along our line, to issue orders to the squadron, 
and, above all, to make the remainder of the flotilla, posted be- 
tween the ships and upon the left wing, advance. The wind 
being adverse, he made these vessels be towed by the ships' 
boats and other boats attached to the squadron ; and by an 
oblique movement formed in front line, with the intention of 
cutting oflfthe retreat of the enemy, and galling him by a cross 
fire. As soon as the capitan pacha perceived the manoeuvre 
of the rear admiral, he came forward himself in his kirlangitch, 



PAUL JONES. 413 

having a very favourable wind, and made the second division of 
his flotilla advance. At this time our reserve w^as very critically 
situated. A double chaloupe quitted the action, and four of our 
galleys w^ere in danger of being captured. The prince of Nas- 
sau, who did not relish going himself, sent Brigadier Corsacoff, 
who made them retreat. Instead of remaining with the reserve, 
which, being without a commander, was in very great disorder, 
the prince of Nassau quitted his own post, and stationed himself 
before the I'ear admiral, where he could be of no use whatever. 
The rear admiral went into the same boat with the prince of 
Nassau, and again issued his orders along the line. Being now 
within cannon shot of the enemy, he opened fire, advancing 
always in an oblique line to cut off his retreat. At the same 
time he despatched Brigadier Alexiano to endeavour to rally 
the vessels of the reserve, which the prince of Nassau had de- 
serted ; but Alexiano contented himself with waving his hat in 
the air, and shouting from behind the lines — ' Fire, my boys, on 
the kirlangitch of the capitan pacha !' 

" When the line led on by the rear admiral came to close fire 
with the enemy, their flotilla was thrown into the utmost con- 
fusion. Our reserve gave no farther way, and the enemy was 
placed under a cross fire. The capitan pacha availed himself 
of the only resource he had left ; the wind being in his favour, 
he set every sail to withdraw his force. Had he remained a 
half hour longer, he would have been surrounded. Two of his 
vessels were burnt in this affair. The flotilla of the enemy was 
composed of fifty-seven vessels, and we chased them up to their 
fleet. The rear admiral, who had directed the whole aflfair, 
left all the credit of it to the prince of Nassau. 

" An idea may be formed of the capacity of this prince, from 
the circumstance that, at the beginning of the action he re- 
quested the rear admiral to bring forward to the support of the 
reserve only the vessels posted on the left wing, which consisted 
of one galley and two double chaloupes. Besides the insufii- 
ciency of force, these vessels had a very long way to make, and 
that against the wind. 



414 PAUL JONES. 

' ** The Turks remained quiet for some time after this. The 
prince of Nassau, who had scarce spoken one word during the 
affair, save to make extravagant professions of regard for the 
rear admiral,* now began to give himself airs. On the 13th 
June he addressed a writing of an extraordinary character to the 
rear admiral, the object of which appeared to be, that an ad- 



* I find a letter which must have been written, according to the old style, on the 8th 
June, from Mr. Littlepage, who had just arrived at the camp on the Bog, congratula- 
ting Jones on this affair, and informing him of the satisfaction which Mr. Jefferson, 
the Marquis de la Fayette, and all his friends in Paris felt, on hearing of his appoint- 
ment. He says: " Your star is bright; and not, I hope, to be eclipsed by the Cres- 
cent. Prince Potemkin is much your friend." In his reply, on the 11th, Jones says: 
" The prince wrote me a letter of thanks for the affair of the 7th. If the honour had 
been ten times greater, I should have renounced it altogether in favour of the Prince de 
Nassau; but I am sorry to say, he is too jealous to be content with my self-denial. 
Perhaps he is ill advised, without knowing it. There is nothing, consistent with my 
honour, that I would not do to make him easy. I am the more in pain, as I under- 
stand he spoke favourably of me to the prince before I arrived. If he now becomes 
my enemy, I shall not imitate his example. It was my intention to pay him a compli- 
ment, when t said, in my letter to the prince, that 'he had taken my counsel in good 
part, in the affair of the 7th.' I showed the Prince de Nassau that letter, and he seemed 
pleased with it. In the affair, he embraced me, and said, ' we should always make 
but one;^ but now, I find, a false construction has been put on my letter, and his 
jealousy supersedes every nobler sentiment." There is a letter from Jones to Nassau 
on the 14th, among his Vindiciop annexed to the Journal, which is certainly written in 
a most conciliatory spirit. Referring to several minor arrangements for the squadron, 
he leaves them altogether to the prince's discretion. He anxipusly inquires what cause 
he had given for offence ? It is undoubtedly to be found in the difference of opinion as 
to the position of the squadron, and in the very phrase which Jones says he intended 
for a compliment. He says to him : " You appeared contented with my letter. The 
least word from you would have made me suppress it. I should prefer to have kept 
silence ; and on other occasions I shall know how to do so." In a note, he says : " I 
have been well duped by it." In Mr. Littlepage's reply to Jones' letter of the llth, he 
says, that he was not unadvised of the misunderstanding between the two commanders, 
previous to the affair of the 7th ; that Prince Potemkin had supposed it was settled, 
and was deeply pained to hear it was renewed. " I easily conceive," he says, " the 
delicacy of your position ; and I know that honour can make no sacrifices. But for 
God's sake, my dear friend be prudent, on your own account and that of your friends. 
Prince Potemkin has conceived a high esteem for you ; but he loves Nassau. If ever 
reciprocal interests dictated unity between two persons, it is between you and the 
Prince de Nassau ; for the present moment, at least. * * " *■ Nassau has been unfor- 
tunate, and he has more than one reason for endeavouring to make the best of existing 



PAUL JONES. 415 

vance should be made of three verstes nearer the enemy, who 
had taken post under the batteries of Oczakow. The rear 
admiral, who could perceive no advantage to the service in such 
a movement, refused his concurrence, the pi'ince marshal having 
approved his plan of acting on the defensive,* until the arrival 
of the land forces, or at least, until the moment when the Turks 
might afford us an opportunity of attacking them to advantage. 
Had he agreed, the movement would have been fatal to Russia, 
as will be seen by what follows. 

" By the 16th June, the patience of the capitan pacha was 
exhausted. He brought from his grand fleet, without Kinbourn, 
two thousand picked men, to reinforce the body under the vyalls 
of Oczakow; and being strengthened still farther by the troops 



circumstances. If you find weaknesses in liis character, excuse them, and remember 
that he was, and I hope yet is, your friend. Pardon this liberty, &c." Surely no 
better advice was ever given, and it was not unattended to at the time. Jones, in a 
letter written on the 20th, said he considered the advice as a new proof of true friend- 
ship ; that it was that of a man of sense ; and to show he meant to follow it, transmit- 
ted a copy of the letter to the prince; the contents of which have been stated. He says: 
" I have put up with more from Nassau, than, under other circumstances I could have 
done from any man who was not crazy. I can no more reckon upon his humour than 
on the wind. One hour he embraces me as his best friend, and the next he is ready to 
cut my throat." He then goes into a technical explanation of his reasons for not 
thinking it expedient to advance three verstes, before the affair of the 7th, and relates 
subsequent operations, as they will be found in the text of the Journal. New causes 
of offence had been given at the date of this letter, and it is plain from the beginning, 
that Jones must have changed his character entirely before he could submit to harmo- 
nize with the prince at the expense of his understanding, pride, and fame. 

* In a letter of the 8th, to the rear admiral, Potemkin expressly said : " I would desire 
you could defer your operations, until I may have approached nearer to you, excepting 
in case the enemy should give you a good opportunity to offer battle, or that the safety 
of Kinbourn should require it." If Jones be correct, the prince must have calculated 
that the first exception would soon occur ; for, he says in a note : " the prince never had 
any intention of passing the Bog, while the Turkish squadron was in the Liman. I 
do not presume to suggest his reasons." And in a passage of Mr. Littlepage's letter 
which has been quoted from, informing him that unforeseen difficulties in the passage 
of the river had made a countermarch necessary, he makes this remark : " It was a 
sham, (feintc,) for the prince never intended to cross the Bog while the Turkish 
squadron was in the Liman. I have this from Brigadier Ribas, and many others in his 
full confidence." 



416 PAUL JONES. 

of the garrison, he advanced with his whole fleet and flotilla, 
and with a fair wind, into the Liman, to attack and board us.* 
The ship, which bore one of the admiral's flags, steered right 
towards the Wolodimer from the commencement of the move- 
ment. When within two verstes of us, or little more, this ship 
got aground, and all the vessels which accompanied it imme- 
diately dropt anchor. It was then about two in the afternoon. 

" The rear admiral summoned a council of war to consult on 
what should be done. He addressed the council, at which were 
present all the commanders of the squadron and the flotilla, and 
concluded by teUing them, ' that they must make up their minds 
to conquer or die for their country. 't 

" The wind, which was rather fresh, being against us; the 
only thing proposed by the rear admiral that was found practi- 
cable was, to draw up our force in an obtuse angle, by bringing 
forward, by anchors, the right of the line up to the centre. This 
movement was completed before midnight. The wind had 
shifted to N. N. E. and at break of day on the 17th, the rear 
admiral made signal, and the whole squadron immediately set 
sail to commence the attack on the Turks. 

" The Turks got into confusion the instant this manoeuvre 
was perceived. They raised their anchors or cut their cables 



* '" The plan of the capitan pacha was to bear down full sail on the vessels of our 
flotilla, and ran them to the bottom by the shock of the encounter of his large ships. 
He also proposed to burn our squadron by throwing in fire-balls, (grappins,) and set- 
ting fire to certain trading vessels which he had prepared as fire-ships. He had reason 
to calculate on success, had he not been thwarted by a circumstance which no man 
could have foreseen." — Note by PaulJones^. 

t It seems unnecessary to insert the address made at this council, which is found 
among the pieces justificatives. Three questions as to the manner of attack were pro- 
posed ; the resolutions upon them are not mentioned. By a statement of the force of 
the squadron under Jones on that day, it appears it consisted of one frigate carrying 40 
guns of different calibres, four carrying 26, two 24, one 20, and one 16, and four vessels 
carrying in all 66 guns. His own vessel, the Wolodimer, a 70 gun ship, carried 
only 24 twenty-four pounders and two licornes, pieces from which perforated balls 
were discharged, filled with combustibles. The shallowness of the Liman would not 
allow of a greater weight of metal. 



PAUL jop^eS. 417 

with the greatest precipitation, and not the shadow of order re- 
mained in their fleet. Our squadron advanced in line of battle 
with an imposing and formidable appearance, so that the Turks 
knew not how weak it really was. As our flotilla had been vei'y 
slow in weighing anchor, the rear admiral was obliged to make 
the squadron halt twice to wait for it. At length, the flotilla 
being always last, the squadron opened fire on the enemy, of 
whom the person second in command, who had flown about 
like a fool, quickly ran his ship on a sand bank on the south of 
the Liman. There was no longer hope for him ; from the mo- 
ment he grounded he was ours. The enemy still kept flying 
about, and always in the greatest disorder. The rear admiral 
ordered his ship (the Wolodimer) to be steered to within pistol 
shot of the vessel of thecapitan pacha, but the latter again ran 
aground upon a sand bank ; and a few minutes afterwards the 
Brigadier Alexiano gave orders in the Russian language, and 
unknown to the rear admiral, to drop the Wolodimer's anchor.* 
It was pretended that there were but fifteen feet of water a 
little way in advance of the ship, which was not true. A c6n- 
siderable time before this the squadron had been taken on the 
right flank by the Turkish flotilla, drawn up on the shallows, 
near the bank to the east of Oczakow, and commanded by the 
capitan pacha himself. The flotilla annoyed the squadron con- 
siderably, by incessantly throwing in along our line both bombs 
and balls of great size. Wanting depth of water, our frigates 
could not advance far enough to dislodge them, and, besides, 
they found that their guns were too small. The capitan pacha 
sunk one of our frigates, named^ the Little Alexander, by a 
bomb, at the side of the Wolodimer, and at the very instant 
Brigadier Alexiano made the anchor be cast. Our flotilla 
still lagged behind, but it did at last advance. Having passed 



* M. Zefaliano, captain of the Wolodimer certifies to the facts mentioned ip this 
statement. His declaration, duly attested, is among the documents annexed to the 
Journal. 

52 



418 PAUL JONES. 

through the squadron in the greatest disorder, and without the 
least appearance of being under command, instead of pursuing 
the flying Turks, the flotilla swarmed round the Turkish ships 
which were aground like a hive of bees. 

" The rear admiral commanded Brigadier Alexiano to get 
together some vessels of our flotilla to dislodge the Turkish 
flotilla. At the same moment the rear admiral advanced in his 
boat towards the left wing, where the prince of Nassau was with 
his body of reserve, employed to very little purpose, in surround- 
ing the first Turkish vessel which was aground, leaning on one 
side, and tiring upon it. The rear admiral entreated him to 
bring or send the reserve to act against the Turkish flotilla 
upon our right flank, and informed him of the misfortune which 
had befallen the Little Alexander ; but M. de Nassau remained 
quietly behind his batteries, and made no movement to dislodge 
the flotilla of the enemy. 

*' The rear admiral then met Brigadier Corsacoff*, to whom 
he gave orders similar to those he had given to M. Alexiano; 
and these two officers having got together as many vessels of 
the flotilla as they could collect, assisted our frigates in dislodg- 
ing and chasing the Turkish flotilla even till under the walls of 
Oczakow. M. de Corsacoft* was a brave and an intelligent 
man; he did not affect to have done any thing wonderful. 
Alexiano was a man of limited talent and of questionable 
courage, but his vanity was excessive. He pretended to have 
towed a battery to within pistol shot of the enemy's flotilla ; but 
M,. Akmatofl^, who commanded that battery, declared that 
neither he nor any one of our people ever were nearer the 
Turkish flotilla than half cannon shot. 

{ " The Turkish fleet was n^w distant. The prince of Nassau 
was told that the Admiral's flag, which had been displayed on the 
vessel of the capitan pacha, was struck, and he hastily advanced 
to claim it. The ship of the capit-an pacha, like the other, was 
a la hande, that is to say, it leaned much to one side, and conse- 
quently could not make use of its guns. As the flag of the 
capitan pacha fell into the water from the top of the main-mast, 



PAUL JONES. 4t9 

having been struck down by a ball, it is not difficult to discover 
that the vessel which had fired this ball was in no danger of 
being touched by case shot. The Zaporavians picked up the 
flag from the water, and the prince of Nassau, a long while 
afterwards, had the glory (which he turned to good account) 
of having snatched it from their hands. The rear admiral 
might have claimed at least half of this flag, as he had his 
hands on it at the same moment with the prince of Nassau ; 
but he regarded it as a thing of very little consequence. 

" Brandcougles* had been thrown into the two Turkish ves- 
sels which were aground, and they were burnt. Was this a 
good or a bad piece of service ? These two vessels were ours, 
from the circumstance of having run aground, and because their 
crews had been left by their countrymen under the guns of our 
squadron. Wherefore did the flotilla interfere with them .'' 
ought it not rather to have pursued the flying Turks, who were 
not yet under the protection of the guns of Oczakow.^ Our 
flotilla had received no injury, and had nothing to fear from the 
shallowness of the water. 

" Having first sounded, the rear admiral made the squadron 
advance another verste, and took post in a right line, barely 
out of shot of Oczakow, and in line with the last Turkish ship 
that had been run aground and taken. Fire soon after broke 
out in this prize, which had been imprudently fired upon with 
brandcougles. The fleet and flotilla of the Turks now drew up 
in a line parrallel to ours, and under the walls of Oczakow. 

" How imbecile does the human mind become under the in- 
fluence of sudden panic I The rear admiral, an hour after the 
affair, advanced in his boat, and took soundings all along the 
Turkish line, opposite the walls of Oczakow, and within reach 
of case shot, and not a single gun was fired upon him. 

" Previously to taking command of the squadron, the rear 



* A note by Paul Jones describes these incendiary missiles as a kind of bomb-shells, 
perforated with holes, and filled inside with combustible materials. They were fired 
from^ sort of pieces called Licornes. 



430 FAVL JONES. 

admiral had gone to Kinbourn with the Chevalier Ribas 
brigadier du jour, to the prince marshal, to reconnoitre the 
position and force of the fleet and flotilla under the capitan 
pacha, and to examine the entrance of the Liman. They 
arrived at Kinbourn at the very time that the capitan pacha 
had detached twenty-one vessels of war from his fleet, and with 
that force entered the road of Oczakow, the wind not permit- 
ting him to enter the Liman, where his flotilla and some trans- 
port ships were already stationed. The rear admiral was so 
struck at finding the tongue of land at Kinbourn without any 
battery or block fort, that he instantly spoke of it to the com- 
mandant, General Suvorrof. This tongue of land, from its 
position, commands the only passage by which large vessels 
can either enter or come out of the Liman, and the fortress of 
Kinbourn is far too distant to be able to command this passage. 
The rear admiral proposed to establish one or more strong 
batteries upon this stripe of land, and M. de Ribas seconded 
the proposition. After considerable delay. General Suvorrof 
resolved to establish a block fort with heavy cannon upon this 
point, and a battery farther within.* But the capitan pacha 
had already got the twenty-one ships in question into the 
Liman. 

" At 10 o'clock on the night between the 17th and 18th of 
June, the capitan pacha attempted to carry the remains of his 
squadron, which had been defeated at eve, out of the Liman ; 
but the block fort and battery fired on his ships, of which nine 
of the largest were forced aground upon the sand bank which 
runs out from Oczakow, at the distance of cannon shot from 
the block fort. 

" The block fort and battery fired on the enemy the whole 
night, and at daybreak General Suvorrof sent to us, requesting 
that we would send vessels to take possession of the ships of 



+ General Suvorrof had the nobleness to say at court, in February, 1789, in a con- 
versation with the Baron and General Elmt, that the plan of establishing this block 
fort belonged to the rear admiral. — Note by Jones. 



PAUL JONES. 421 

the enemy which had got aground. The rear admiral wished 
to send frigates ; but Brigadier Alexiano assured him that he 
would run great risk of losing them. The current there, he 
said, ' was like that of a mill-dam, and the bottom was so bad 
that anchors would not hold.' 

"It was, accordingly, resolved to proceed with the flotilla ; 
and Alexiano, who had his private reasons, set out with the 
prince of Nassau.* The flotilla went pell-mell, and without 
any sort of order or plan, upon the nine ships aground, and fired 
brandcougles into them without mercy. It was in vain the 
wretched Turks made the sign of the cross, and begged for 
quarter on their knees! Above three thousand of them were 
burnt with their ships. By some chance two of these vessels, 
the least and the largest, did not take fire; the one was a cor- 



* In a letter to Mr. Littlepage, written on the 20th, Jones says : " Without explain- 
ing to me any of his reasons, the prince of Nassau wished to go there, (to the sand 
bank under Oczakow,) with all the flotilla. I opposed it ; because all the Turkish 
flotilla was under the cannon of the place, within cannon shot of our right wing, and 
we ought to have waited till the squadron should be attacked by it. He permitted 
himself to say many uncivil things ; among others, that he. was always wanted to pro- 
tect my squadron, with his flotilla. As he had often said such things since the affair 
of the 7th, I told him it was improper for him to say this and for me to hear it. That 
the squadron was respectable, as, belonging to the empress and having conquered her 
majesty's enemies. He bragged that he had taken the two ships. I told him that I 
saw nothing extraordinary in tha^; because they were aground, and, of course, cap- 
tured before he came up. He said he would write what I had uttered to Prince Po- 
temkin ; and that he knew better than /did, how to take ships ! I told him, that with- 
out impugning his skill, he was not ignorant that I had proved my ability to take ships, 
which were not Turks. He got out of all control of himself; and threatened to write 
against me, to the empress and Prince Potemkin. As for that, I told him, if he was 
base enough to do it, I defied his malice. He left me three half-galleys, (demi-galeres,) 
one small battery, and one chaloupe, which I placed under our right wing, and has 
not spoken to me since. Before this ridiculous dispute, our combination was unne- 
cessary ; otherwise I would have put up with still more, for the good of the service. 
I feel no rancour against him ; and though he said, in a bitter tone, that I would be 
rejoiced to see him beaten, he little understood my heart !" In a note, he says : " He 
pays a poor compliment to himself, who ascribes such sentiments to a man whose 
honour is known. If I had kept quiet on the 7th June, his business would have been 
soon transacted." 



428 PAUL JONES. 

vette, very indifferently armed, carrying one battery and four 
pieces between decks. The other was a small brigantine, of 
French construction, armed with fourteen small guns. 

" Neither the prince of Nassau nor Alexiano was to be seen 
at this time. They were together, and at some distance, during 
this frightful carnage ; and it was afterwards asked of them if 
they had not, during this time, been at Kinbourn? As the 
greatest confusion reigned among the vessels of the flotilla, 
though our loss was not great, there is no doubt that part of it 
was owing to Russian bullets. 

" The army of Prince Potemkin having come up on the 27th 
June, the prince of Nassau had orders to attack and destroy, 
or capture, the Turkish flotilla which lay under the walls of Oc- 
zakow; and the rear admiral was commanded to give him every 
assistance that might be useful. In pursuance of these orders, 
on the 1st of July, at one in the morning, the flotilla advanced. 
The rear admiral had sent all the chaloupes and barcasses be- 
longing to the squadron to haul out the vessels of the flotilla. 
The prince marshal had taken the trouble to arrange the plan 
of attack himself, but his plan was not followed. 

" At daybreak, our flotilla having advanced only within can- 
non shot, o[)ened fire upon the Turkish flotilla, and on the place. 
The current having carried several of our batteries and double 
chaloupes rather too far to leeward, the rear admiral had them 
hauled up by the boats and barcasses of the squadron, and set 
the example himself with the chaloupe in which he was. The 
Turks set fire themselves to a little frigate which they had pre- 
pared as a fire-ship, and placed at anchor to the N. E. of Fort 
Hassan Pacha. 

" At six in the morning, the rear admiral advanced consi- 
derably in front of the flotilla to seize five of the enemy's gal- 
leys which lay within case shot to the east of Fort Hassan. The 
position of these galleys, between the cross fire of our flotilla on 
one side, and that of Fort Hassan, the Turkish flotilla, and the 
citadel of Oczakow on the other, rendered this a very danger- 
ous enterprise. The rear admiral boarded the galley which lay 



PAUL JONJES. 4:^3 

farthest out, and had it towed out of dangei- in a short tinnie by 
Lieutenant Leff Fabrician. He afterwards boarded the galley 
of the capitan pacha, which lay considerably nearer the fort. 
From unskilfulness, and excess of zeal, a young officer cut the 
cable of this galley without' waiting the orders of the rear ad- 
miral, and before the boats could be got in order to haul it out, 
the wind drifted the galley towards the shore, and still nearer 
to the fort. The rear admiral had the galley lightened by 
throwing many things oyerboard. After much search for ropes 
that might stretch to the wreck of the burnt frigate, and get the 
galley afloat by that means, the plan failed from the ropes 
not being long enough. The rear admiral was very unwilling 
to yield to *the obstinate opposition of the Turks, who fired upon 
him from all their bastions and : from their flotilla and he de- 
spatched Lieutenant Fox to the Wolodimer, to fetch an anchor 
and cable. This was a certain means of securing his object in 
spite of the enemy; and in waiting the return of the lieute- 
nant, he left the galley with his people, and assisted again in 
towing the batteries. Before the return of Lieutenant Fox, he 
had, however, the mortification to see fire break out in the gal- 
ley of the capitan pacha. He at first believed that the slaves 
chained on board had found means to escape, and had set fire 
to the vessel ; but he had afterwards positive proof that Briga- 
dier Alexiano being in a boat at the time with the prince of 
Nassau, on the outside of the flotilla, and being aware of the 
intention of the rear admiral, swore that it should not succeed, 
and sent a Greek canoe to set fire to the galley !* The three 
other Turkish galleys were at once run down and burnt by 
brandcougles. There were also a two-masted ship and a large 



* The attestation of a Russian officer to this fact is among the piSces justificatii}es ap- 
pended to the Journal ; and the original of that attestation, written in French, and 
subscribed BibicrofF, officer of the guard, and dated at Kinbourn, the 26th October, 
1788, remains among Jones' papers. This officer's certificate makes no mention of 
Nassau. He simply states, that the Brigadier Alexiano sent a chaloupe to set fire to 
the galley, which the rear admiral was anxious to save. 



434 PAUL JONES. 

bomb vessel burnt near Fort Hassan Pacha. This includes all 
that was taken or destroyed by water, save fifty-two prisoners 
taken by the rear admiral in the two galleys. The wretched 
beings who were chained in the galley of the capitan pacha 
perished there in the flames ! 

" The prince marshal having made an important diversion 
on the land side, it is to be regretted that advantage was not 
taken of this movement to seize the remainder of the enemy's 
flotilla. But our flotilla never came up within reach of grape 
shot." 

The above extract from the rear admiral's Journal is verified 
in the following manner : " This extract has been translated by 
me into the Russian language, and read before the commanders 
of the ship Wolodimer, Captain of the second rank Zefaliano ; 
of the frigate Scoroi, Captain of the second rank Aboljanin ; of 
the frigate Nicolai, Captain Lieutenant DaniloflT; of the frigate 
Taheuroc, Lieutenant Makinin ; of the frigate the Little Alex- 
ander, Lieutenant Savitzsky ; and they have found nothing in 
them contrary to truth. 

" On board the Wolodimer, before Oczakow, the 28th Octo- 
ber, 1788. 

"Paul Denitreffsky, 
♦' Honorary Counsellor of the College for foreign 
aflTairs, and by special orders of her Imperial 
Majesty of all the Russias, Secretary to Rear 
Admiral and Chevalier Paul Jones." 

Addition of the Rear Admiral to the Preceding 

Journal. 

"The moment the ships began to withdraw from Oczakow, 
the prince of Nassau and Brigadier Alexiano hurried straight 
to the head quarters of the prince marshal, to relate the things 
which both pretended they had performed. In a few minutes 
after the flotilla began to retire, the rain fell in torrents, of 



♦ PAUL JONES. 425 

which Nassau and Alexiano received their own share before 
reaching head quarters. 

" Two days afterwards, Brigadier Alexiano returned on 
board the Wolodimer, having caught a mahgnant fever, of 
which he died on the 8th July. The prince of Nassau, who had 
made use of him in cabalUng against me — God knows where- 
fore — neither visited him in his sickness, nor assisted at his 
funeral. At first it was given out, that the service must sustain 
the loss of every Greek in it, on account of his death ; but I 
soon experienced the reverse. Not one asked to be dismissed ; 
they remained under my command with the Russians, and 
were more contented than before. On the day preceding the 
death of Alexiano, he had received intelligence of having been 
promoted two grades ; and that her majesty had bestowed on 
him a fine estate, and peasants, in White Russia. At the same 
time the prince of Nassau had received a very valuable estate, 
with three or four thousand peasants, also in White Russia, 
and the military order of St. George, of the second class. Her 
majesty likewise gave him liberty to hoist the flag of vice admiral 
at the taking of Oczakow, to which event it was apparently be- 
lieved he would greatly contribute. I received the order of St. 
Anne,* an honour with which I am highly flattered, and with 
which I could hav,e been perfectly satisfied, had others been 
recompensed only in the same proportion, and according to the 
merit of their services. All the officers of the flotilla received a 
step of promotion and the gratuity of a year's pay. The greater 
part of them also obtained the order of St. George, of the last 
class. Only two of these officers had been bred to the sea ; none of 



* I find two letters from Count Segur at St. Petersburgh, written to Jones in this 
month, (July,) of the 14th and 29th, both in a highly complimentary view, of course. 
He says in the former : " The empress being absent, I forwarded a copy of the greatest 
part of your letter to General MomonofF, who liad it read to that princess. She is 
highly satisfied with it, and in two lines from her hand has been pleased to charge 
me with assurances to you, of the great respect in which she holds your services 
General Momonoff" begs me to say, that he will endeavour to merit the obliging things 
you say of him." 

53 



426 PAUL JONES. 

the others had been engaged in navigation. The officers of the 
squadron under my command were almost wholly marine of- 
ficers. They had done their duty well when opposed to the 
enemy ; but they obtained no promotion, no mark of distinction, 
no pecuniary gratification. My mortification was excessive ; 
but my officers at this time gave me a very gratifying proof of 
their attachment. On promising that I would demand justice 
for them from the prince marshal at the close of the campaign, 
they «tifled their vexation, and made no complaint. 

" It bught to have been mentioned in the proper place, that 
three days after our success in the Liman, Prince Potemkin 
arrived at Kinbourn, from whence he came on board the Wolo- 
dimer to make me a visit. He was accompanied by General 
Count de Biandisky of Poland, the prince de Repuin, the Prince 
de Ligne, General de Samoilow, and several other officers. His 
highness did me the honour to remain to dinner ; and as he 
knew that an altercation had taken place between the prince of 
Nassau and myself on the morning of the 18th of June,* he had 
the goodness to employ the Prince de Ligne, and M. Littlepage, 
chamberlain to the king of Poland, to pursuade the prince of 
Nassau to make me an apology. I accepted it with sincere 
pleasure. We embraced in presence of this honourable com- 
pany, and I believed him as sincere as myself. 

" The prince marshal charged me at this time to make 
arrangements for raising the cannon, anchors, and other effects 



* In Jones' despatch to Potemkin, on the 18th June, he alludes to the dispute be- 
tween Nassau and himself about despatching all the flotilla to the sand bank, and to 
the passion into which the former was thrown. This was certainly impolitic. In 
the same despatch he praised Alexiano's services, at the prince's expense, and recom- 
mended him to favour. But he says in a note, iie was mistaken, in interesting himself 
in that ingrate. Potemkin could not have been pleased with the continuance of an 
altercation, of the merits of which he was probably not able to judge ; and as Mr. Lit- 
tlepage had already warned Jones, " he loved Nassau." He also gives credit to 
Alexiano, and impliedly censures Nassau, in his report to the admiralty, at Cherson, 
on the same occasion. Potemkin directed him not to write again, directly, to the 
admiralty. 



PAUL JONES. 427 

belonging to the enemy's ships which had been burnt. With- 
out loss of time, I detailed a transport ship with officers and 
people for this service. 

His highness the prince marshal advanced his army, which 
crossed the Bog and appeared in sight of us on the borders of 
the Liman, on the 27th June, and on the next day the capitan 
pacha weighed anchor with his grand fleet, which had constantly 
remained twenty or thirty verstes beyond Kinbourn, and direct- 
ed his course towards the entrance of the Danube, carrying three 
admiral's flags, and followed by all the vessels that had escaped 
us in the Liman. During the whole time that we were exposed 
to having a serious affair with the Turks, Brigadier Alexiano 
had carefully kept a Greek felucca of eighteen oars alongside 
the Wolodimer. This felucca was better built for sailing than 
any of the other chaloupes or rowing vessels belonging to the 
whole squadron, so that he had at all times the means of saving 
himself in case of any disastrous event. Even the prince of 
Nassau, since his retreat on the 6th of June, was never seen in 
any vessel of the flotilla, but always in a chaloupe, which had 
been built for the especial use of her imperial majesty on her 
late voyage. For myself, I took no such precautions. I saw 
that I must conquer or die. For me there was no retreat. The 
instant that Alexiano saw the troops appear, he despatched his 
felucca to inform the prince marshal that it was he, in his zeal 
for the service, who had employed people to save the eff'ects of 
the burnt prizes. Nothing could be less true. He had not taken 
the smallest concern in the matter. But this shows the charac- 
ter of the man. Next day I was informed that the transport 
ship I had employed on this service was already too heavily 
laden, and made a great deal of water. As the wind was fair 
for Glauboca, I gave orders that she should immediately go 
thither to unload. Some hours after the departure of the 
transport. Brigadier Alexiano retin-ned from Kinbourn, where 
he had dined, and said several impertinent things to me on the 
subject of the transport. He went afterwards to head quarters 
to complain of me to the prince marshal. In consequence of 



428 PAUL JONES. 

this complaint I received a letter from his brigadier dujaur, the 
Chevalier Ribas, which, among other things, mentioned that the 
prince marshal was ' singularly severe and strict in all that 
related to the orders he gave.' I replied, that I was not afraid 
of the severity of the prince marshal, as I had done nothing 
save my duty, in pursuance of his own orders.* 

" Next day I paid a visit to Prince de Nassau. I supposed I 
should be received with open arms, [a reconciliation it will be 
remembered had lately taken place, as stated in the beginning 
of this part of the Journal,] but he blew out, {me fit une scene,) 
about the transport, belonging, as he said, to his flotilla. I had 
told him I had been charged with that necessary business by 



* Pieces Justificatwes. No. 24, is a letter from Jones of this date, (June 27th,) 
to Prince Potemkin, informing him, among other things, that he had given it in 
charge to a heutenant to execute the order referred to in the Journal. No. 27, on the 
30th, he informed him of the order to unload at Glauboca. No. 28, is the letter from 
Ribas, of the same date referred to in the Journal, and containing the offensive intima- 
tion. He says : " After the orders he had given on this subject to M. le Brigadier et 
Chevalier Alexiano, iiis highness is very sorry that your excellency has directed a 
change in what he had resolved upon. In such cases, the prince marshal, notwith- 
standing the goodness of his heart, is severely rigid, (d'une grand rigeur,) and I make 
it a point to inform you of it, sir, that you may be on your guard for the future." No. 
29, is Jones' reply on the evening of the same day ; in which he says, that as he knew 
the brigadier's intentions were good, he took his letter in good part ; that he had no 
knowledge of any instructions having been given to Alexiano by the prince, and cer- 
tainly no desire to meddle with the prizes, the reason of which, he need not inform 
Ribas was I'humeur du Prince de Nassau. He then states in detail what is substan- 
tially set forth in the Journal ; and mentions that, on the preceding day, there had 
been a considerable appearance of discontent among the Russian officers, at the con 
stant preference given to the Greeks, and particularly at the charge given to Alexiano 's 
nephew to save the effects of the burnt prizes, when he had, at the same time, com- 
mand of three frigates which Admiral Jones had stationed beyond Kinbourn. " Too 
much," he adds, "has been said on a matter so unimportant. If the prince marshal 
has forgotten the order he gave me, I can recall to him the place and time, and the 
words he made use of" He subjoins in a note that Potemkin afterwards told 3Ir. 
Littlepage, that he had caused Jones to be censured very mal-a-propos. He con- 
cluded by saying, " I renounce all idea of petsoual advantage in regard to the prizes. 
Therefore what I have done was purely and only in the line of duty. I hope to find 
more noble means of advancement. I know but one manner of conducting myself; 
and as I can never depart from it, fear nothing." 



PAUL JONES. 429 

the prince marshal ; and that as all the vessels -of war and 
transports belonged to her imperial majesty, and the transport 
in question was empty when I ordered it to be taken, I could 
not see that he had the least ground of complaint. He was mad 
with rage ; but as the good of the service did not further 
require our combined operations, I thought his quarrelling too 
puerile to concern myself about it.* I took leave of him, beg- 



* The writer of the Life published in Edinburgh has well remarked, that after this 
time Jones seems to have abandoned all hope of conciliating Nassau; and by what 
follows in the Journal, it will be seen that the latter gave him no opportunity. A 
month after this, he gave full vent to his feelings in the following letter addressed to 
Ribas, and probably intended for the perusal of Poterakin. It is a loose copy of a let- 
ter not in the engrossed Journal. 

" Monsieur le Brigadier, — Having been at Kinbourn this afternoon, to concert opera- 
tions with the commandant general, I received at my return here a kind of note with- 
out date, which purports to be from you, but which I do not recognise as your hand- 
writing. This note adverts to the question of saluting the flag of the vice admiral ; 
but I am not aware if there be an officer of this rank nearer us than St. Petersburgh. 
I respect infinitely the authority and the character of his highness the prince marshal. 
I love good order, and I am devoted with enthusiasm to the welfare of the empire, but 
the first duty of a man is to respect his own honour. 

"I have no wish to speak of myself, but circumstances demand it. I was living in 
America, in the bosom of peace and friendship when his excellency, M. de Simolin, 
did me the honour, unknown to myself, to propose me to her imperial majesty and the 
prince marshal as commander in chief on the Black Sea. I was loo much flattered 
by the reception of her majesty to stipulate the slightest condition on entering her ser- 
vice. She deigned to receive me. I was to serve only under the command of the 
prince marshal. 

" I imagined myself intended for another command than that which was given me ; 
but I looked on the change as a flattering proof of the confidence of the prince mar- 
shal. Never, probably, did any commanding officer commence service under circum- 
stances more painful than mine ; but, in spite of the restraints imposed on me by 
treacherous colleagues, in spite of their unceasing efforto to draw me into error, and 
their opposition to all my plans for the good of the service, I have extricated myself 
from the aflTair by the sacrifice of my own feelings and interests. I was a true phliloso- 
pher, and the service has not suffered. My firmness and integrity have supported me 
against their detestable plot for my ruin ; yet I have served as the cat's paw to draw 
the chesnuts from the fire for them. 

" I am much flattered by the order of St. Anne granted me for my zealous services ; 
but I should have been ashamed to receive brilliant rewards for empty boasts. 

" As I can never bring myself to resolve on having any connexion with a man so 
detestable as M. de Nassau, I can never acknowledge him for my superior. If he has 



430 PAUL JONES. 

gmg him to reflect, that I had given him no cause of displea 
sure. I did not wish to come to a rupture with him ; but, on 



received the rank of vice admival, I will say in the face of the universe that he is un- 
worthy of it. It is now ten years since he wished to serve under my command. I have 
known him without knowing him. (connu sans connoitre.) I knew that he was foolish, 
(bite,) but I did not believe, before proving it, that his character was base to the bot- 
tom; the only military merit he possesses is effrontery. The only thing he has done, 
was (after the affair of the 17th June,) to snatch the flag of the capitan pacha from the 
hands of the Zaporavians, who had stolen it a long time before he came up. He has 
never shown either order or intelligence in the flotilla. Every commander of a boat, 
or other vessel, was his own master, and conducted matters according to his own 
notions. Hence it happened, that with much good will for the service, they bore 
down on the 17th and 18th June, on the enemy's vessels aground and heeled, hovered 
round them like a swarm of bees ; and small as was our loss, it cannot be doubted 
that a part of it was occasioned by Russian bullets. 

"A single galley, in the hands of a good officer, would, in like circumstances, 
suffice to conquer a ship of the largest size. But we should be just to the commander 
of the flotilla. He always had the prudence to keep behind his men; and in critical 
moments he always had in his mind, and sometimes on his lips, ways and means of 
retiring beyond the batteries of Stansilaw. He well knew that for me there was no 
retreat. In the affair between the flotillas, on the 7th of June, there was something 
like military combination; but it is not to him this should be attributed. If he had 
been left to himself, he would have been beaten, at least, as disgracefully as he had 
been chased by the Turks on the preceding evening. As to the affair of the 17th 
June, of the merits of which he so greatly boasts, the Turks got into confusion the 
moment they saw our squadron under sail and advancing to attack them. They had 
set sail, and the rout was general even before the whole of our flotilla had raised their 
anchors. The Turkish squadron had made no arrangement for fight, but fled in the 
greatest disorder and trepidation at the very commencement. I had given orders to 
advance near the vessel of the capitan pacha, but M. Alexiano thwarted me, and cast 
anchor without my orders, at the moment when the second Turkish ship (the admi- 
ral) was striking. 

"The Turkish flotilla was manoeuvred with more skill upon the shallows on the 
right flank of our squadron, from whence they threw bombs, and sunk the small fri- 
gate, the Petit Alexander. The commander of our flotilla had paid no attention to 
my requests to send a detachment of the flotilla to dislodge them. The Brigadiers 
Alexiano and Corsacoflt had assembled and brought forward batteries for this purpose, 
according to my orders, in concert with our frigates on the right wing. The affair of 
the 18th was the result of the panic of the evening before, and of the batteries which, 
in concert with you, (Ribas,) I had the credit of establishing at the point of ICinbourn. 
A very small detachment would have been sufficient to have secured the nine vessels 
under the cannon of our batteries, and out of the reach of those of the enemy. A good 
officer, who had commanded such an expedition, would have known how to bring in 
these nine vessels, without having exposed his people pell-mell, as was the case, and 



PAEL JONES. 431 

the 1st of July, seeing the day dawn, and that the flotilla was 
still far too distant to make the necessary attack,* meeting him 



without having the folly to destroy ships of which we stood ao much in need, by brand- 
cougles. 

" I could not leave my own command to be present at this affair; but I am told 
that some who were there inquired if M. de Nassau had not been at Kunbourn during 
the attack. 

" After all, we owe our success to favourable circumstances, to the good disposition, 
and the imposing appearance of our squadron in advancing to the attack on the 17th 
June ; for the enemy had taken flight before the approach of our flotilla, which was 
tardy in weighing anchor, and got into confusion from the beginning ofthe movement. 
It has been seen meanwhile that M. de Nassau, who did nothing, and who had not a 
single man wounded near him, has been rewarded as if he had performed the most 

heroic actions. Marshal Saxe said to his troops, — 'lam not one of those 

generals who cry to their soldiers, fall on ! I say to you, — My soldiers, behold the 
enemy, — let us fall on.' M. de Nassau has not shown that he is ofthe opinion of 
the marshal. Never was bravado more impudent than that of M. de Nassau. To 
depart from triith costs him nothing. He had the effrontery to deceive the prince 
marshal (to whom he owes the bread that he eats,) in saying he had burnt six ships 
ofthe line and had taken two. These pretended ships ofthe line were nothing other 
than the merchant vessels called caravellas. In time of peace they trade between 
Constantinople and Egypt ; in time of war such ships are armed, but always badly. 
In place of eight, but four entered the Liman. I have made Lieutenant Fox measure 
the wreck of two carcasses of two ofthe largest; the one was 135 feet, the other 130 
feet English measure, entire length ofthe decks on which were the principal batteries. 
Instead of two, there was but one three-masted vessel not burnt. It is true they also 
spared a small brigantine in the barbarous conflagration of June 18th. So we must 
regard this brigantine as a ship ofthe line taken by M. de Nassau. This prize remain- 
ed aground and has become a total wreck. Humanity recoils, indignant and affrighted 
at beholding so many wretched creatures perish in the flames, without any necessity. 
But there are some small marks ofthe goodness of heart and gratitude which M. de 
Nassau is pleased to show, to prove himself worthy of the kindnesses he lately re- 
ceived at Constantinople. Now he is with the Russians, where he has found his 
market, {trouvi son compte.) The same motives which induced him to come here, 
may lead him back to Constantinople." 

There is much repetition in this letter, of what is found in the Journal ; but it has 
been inserted entire, because it proves that the same charges, with like circumstan. 
tiality and more acrimony were urged at the time, which were afterwards deliberately 
written down as historical. It does not appear whether Ribas showed the letter to 
Potemkin or not; but by the middle of October, Potemkin communicated to Jones her 
majesty's orders for his recall. It is brought in here out of date, because it refers to 
transactions already known to the reader. 

* To take some galleys at anchor under Oczakow, supposed to be weakly manned 



432 PAUL JONES. 

in his chaloupe, I asked, ' If he did not think it time to begin 
the attack ?' ' Is it of me you thus inquire ?' he replied ; ' I 
have nothing to say to you on the subject.' After a reply so 
uncivil, and so publicly made, it was impossible I could have any 
farther intercourse with him. 

" On the 18th June, in giving an account to the prince mar- 
shal of the fate of the nine vessels run aground in coming out 
of the Liman, upon the shallows opposite the battery and block 
fort on the tongue of land of Kinbourn, I took the liberty to pro- 
pose to him to get the Wolodimer, which had port-holes for 
70 pieces of cannon, and the large frigate Alexander, which 
might have carried 50 pieces, completely armed, that at the 
first opportunity the squadron of Cherson might join that of 
Sevastopole ; but his highness gave no orders for this purpose 
till the month of September ; and the admiralty was so slow in 
acting, that the vessels were not equipped by the 18th October, 
when I was recalled to St. Petersburgh by an order from her 
imperial majesty. 

" The fleet of the capitan pacha having sailed on the 28th 
of June, had a rencounter with that of Sevastopole, which had 
come out some days before ; but the Turkish fleet being much 
stronger than that of Russia, the latter fled, and had the good 
fortune to get back to Sevastopole without loss, having no more 
than six or seven men killed and wounded, which shows that the 
aflfair was neither close nor warm. 

"After the aff*air of the 18th of June, the greater part of our 
flotilla remained several days at anchor between Kinbourn and 
the block fort on the end of the tongue of land. On the 20th, 
the wind being strong and from the west, a Turkish brigantine, 
equipped as a fire-ship put off" towards Kinbourn. The enemy 
set fire to her as they abandoned her, and she was consumed. 
It is surprising that the Russian seamen and pilots could be so 



Jones had orders from Potemkin to assist Nassaa, in whatever lay in his power. 
Pieces Justificatives. No. 30. 



PAUL JONES. '433 

profoundly ignorant respecting the anchorage, currents, and 
depth of the Liman, and, above all, at the entrance into the 
canal, (Fahz-water,) and in the road between Oczakow and 
Beresane. At first not a single commander in the flotilla durst 
venture to cast an anchor. 

"Being at Kinbourn on the 28th June, General Suvorrof 
spoke to me of the unpleasant circumstance of not being able 
to cut off the communication between Oczakow and Beresane. 
Having sounded myself, I informed him that this was quite as 
practicable as it was necessary, and I would place the frigates 
there instantly, if he would only require me to do so. He did 
not hesitate, and the same day I placed three frigates there. 
M. Alexiano did all he could to prevent this ; and when he saw 
the frigates set off, prophesied that I need not expect to see 
them return. He carried his intrigues so far, that the prince 
marshal wrote me a warning letter on the 29th, and on the Jst 
July a peremptory order to withdraw them.* During the short 
time they were there they took two Turkish armed chaloupes 
and a batteau laden with powder and shot ; and cut off the 
enemy's comnmnication between Oczakow and Beresane. 

" The prince marshal had not been satisfied with the con- 
duct of the flotilla in the affair of attacking Oczakow on the 1st 
July, which was conducted in a very irregular manner, and at 
too great a distance. The most advanced cliarge was that of 
the battery commanded by M. AkniatofF, who was never less 
than 500 toises distant from the enemy. On the 10th of July, 
the prince marshal sent the prince of Nassau to Sevastopole, to 
learn if the squadron had been much damaged in the rencoun- 
ter with the Turkish fleet. Immediately after the departure 
of the prince of Nassau, the prince marshal gave the Chevalier 
Ribas the command of the flotilla, with orders to go to Kin- 
bourn, to receive on board the troops he destined to make a 
descent on the island of Beresane. At the same time he order- 



* The official letters between Potemkin and Jones, among the Pieces Justificatives, 
show that no blame could have been, or was, attached to him in this matter. 

54 



434 PAUL JONES. 

ed me to establish a line of blockade between that island and 
Oczakow. I stationed five frigates, carrying twelve pounders, 
in the road for that purpose. 

" On the 14th, I was ordered to inspect the entrance of the 
Liman. I immediately went to Kinbourn to have an under- 
standing with General Suvorrof and the Brigadier de Ribas. 
Though the brigadier had been incessantly occupied since the 
departure of the prince of Nassau in bringing the crews of the 
flotilla to some sort of order, he had not yet completed this task. 
So great was the confusion that reigned, that he could not find 
in any vessel five soldiers belonging to the same company ; and 
the officers knew not where to look for their men. This re- 
tarded the embarkation of the troops destined for the descent 
till the 16th. The prince marshal was so much displeased with 
this delay, that on the 17th, he gave orders to land the troops, 
that they might join his army before Oczakow, and that the 
flotilla should return into the Liman, as well as the five frigates 
I had posted for the blockade. 

*' From the commencement of the projected expedition against 
Beresane, M. Ribas had requested me to conduct the flotilla 
and the descent of the troops. Though a man of much talent, 
he had not the misplaced conceit of some persons who readily 
take upon them things far beyond their capacity. I told him, 
' He well knew I ought to have commanded the flotilla as well 
as the squadron, from the beginning of the campaign, but that 
my gratitude for the gracious reception accorded me by her 
imperial majesty, together with the very delicate state in which 
I had found affairs, had induced me to sacrifice my feelings, 
and even greatly to hazard my reputation, for the good of the 
empire ; that I could never so far humble myself as to request 
the direction of the flotilla, but if the prince marshal thought 
proper to propose it to me, I would do my best to make the 
most of it possible.' 

" On the afternoon of the 17th, the prince marshal fairly pro- 
posed to give me the command of the flotilla. His highness 
informed me his intention was to have Oczakow attacked a 



PAtJL JONES. 435 

second time. I replied, that I was disposed to execute with 
zeal whatever he might think proper for the good of the service ; 
but that to attack with advantage it was necessary to come to 
close quarters, and to advance in better order than on the 1st 
July. He was of the same opinion, and requested me to come 
ashore next day, that we might concert together the plan of 
attack. 

" I did not fail to comply with the orders of the prince mar- 
shal, but his highness spoke no more of the flotilla. I remained 
to dinner and supper, and afterwards returned on board of my 
ship. The prince of Nassau having returned some days before 
from Sevastopole, had intrigued with the Prince de Ligne ; and 
the prince marshal had restored him to the command of the 
flotilla. 

" On the 18th June, I had been ordered to despatch the five 
frigates which had returned into the Liman, to be refitted at 
Glauboca, en hatterie for sea service. I sent them off at day- 
break on the 19th, having taken the greater part of their crews 
for service in the gun-boats and bomb-vessels which the prince 
marshal proposed to place under my command. On the 20th, I 
received twenty-one gun-boats, each carrying a single piece, 
from eighteen to thirty-two pounders ; and fi\ e bomb-vessels, 
each carrying a mortar, of which four were of three poods, and 
one o(^\e poods.* The same day the prince marshal having 
established his head quarters to the right of his army upon the 
shores of the Black Sea, (he had hitherto been on the shores of 
the Liman, on the left wing,) pointed out to me two of the 
enemy's gun-boats, stationed close by the fort of Hassan Pacha, 
and the Turkish lines on the side of Beresane. He was per- 
suaded that they would attempt to come out during the night 
with despatches, and inquired of me if it were not possible to 
capture them. As his highness appeared to attach great impor- 
tance to this service, I undertook it. 



A pood, or pond, is a Russian weight, equal to 36 lbs. English weight. 



436 PAUL JONES. 

" I returned on board the Wolodimer, from whence, at eight 
in the evening, I set off with five armed chaloupes. I made five 
gun-boats follow, as a measure of precaution in case the Turks 
had attempted to make a sortie, as their chaloupes sailed much 
faster than ours. I found one of the Turkish gun-boats aground, 
hauled up, and almost dry on the sands adjoining the battery, 
and on an intrench ment the enemy had cast up on the water's 
edge. It was impossible to get it afloat under the terrible fire 
which we sustained from all the lines and batteries on the shore. 
The other gun-boat lay just afloat, right against the fort of Has- 
san Pacha, to the south. Lieutenant Edwards boarded this 
vessel, and cut her cables ; but having had several of his men 
wounded, and being deserted by one of the chaloupes, he was 
obliged to give up the attempt, lest he should be left by the 
other chaloupe also. During this time I had made some efforts 
to get the other Turkish boat afloat. I now rowed quickly to 
the assistance of Mr. Edwards, but the night was dark and 
he was already out of sight, when I boarded the vessel in which 
he had been. I had several men wounded around me; but, in 
defiance of the enemy, I hauled the vessel out, and stationed it 
right opposite the head quarters of the prince marshal. 

" On the ,31st, at daybreak, I sailed with the Wolodimer, 
followed by all the vessels of the squadron that yet remained 
with me, and twenty-five gun-boats and bomb-vessels that had 
been placed under my commaud. The object of this movement 
was again to blockade Oczakow by sea, and to cut off the com- 
munication between that place and Beresane. To accomplish 
this object, I stationed the Wolodimer and the Alexander to 
blockade the channel at the entrance of the Liman, and I con- 
tinued the same line of blockade into the road, by placing the 
smaller vessels there. As the bomb-vessels and gun-boats had 
not water casks, the prince marshal, who wished to see these craft 
opposite his head quarters, made wells be dug on shore for the 
accommodation of the crews ; and on the 24th, ordered my offi- 
cer dujour to have the vessels stationed near the shore. I knew 
nothing of this change, for 1 had placed them the previous night 



PAUL JONES. 437 

ill line, and far enough off to be in safety. On the 25th, the 
wind was from the south, but blew moderately. After dinner I 
went to head quarters to make a visit to the prince marshal, 
and found, to my great astonishment, that half the boats were 
cast ashore, and the other half in the greatest danger. I set 
to work instantly, with my chaloupe, to haul off, and bring to 
anchor all the vessels possible ; and by means of anchors and 
cables, for which I sent to the squadron, we saved them all, ex- 
cept six gun-boats, which went to pieces, and filled with sand. 
On the 26th, the prince marshal wrote me by his brigadier du 
jour, to inform me that I was at liberty to place the boats I had 
saved where I pleased. I placed them near the tongue of land 
of Kinbourn, where they had a sheltered haven, and also wells 
for the accommodation of the men. They sustained no farther 
injury during the time they remained under my command. At 
this time, two chaloupes or small cutters were placed under my 
orders, of which each carried two licornes, of forty-eight pounds 
calibre in the fore part, and six falconets on the sides. Shortly 
afterwards, I got two larger cutters, carrying each two mortars 
of five poods. 

" On the 31st July, the capitan pacha again made his 
appearance with his fleet, followed by several vessels which he 
had not when he went off. His advanced guard, composed of 
his frigates, bomb-vessels, and small craft, cast anchor near 
Beresane, whilst his large squadron of ships of the line resumed 
their old position. The prince marshal ordered me to bring 
back my small vessels to assist in blocking up the passage at 
the entrance of the Liman ; and the prince of Nassau was 
ordered to block up the road with his flotilla, and thus cut off 
the communication of the Turkish small vessels by the shallows 
to the south of Fort Hassan Pacha. 

[Two versions are here given, apparently by accident, of 
the same circumstance. The latter is presumed to be the 
most correct, and the former is, therefore, omitted in this trans- 
lation.] 



438 PAUL JOJTES. 

*' The prince of Nassau hoisted a white flag with a blue 
cross on one of the galleys, on leaving the Linian ; and that 
galley having passed under the stern of the Wolodimer on the 
1st of August, he pretended that I ought to salute him as vice 
admiral. 1st, When I hoisted my flag, to avoid the idle vanity 
of exacting a salute, I did it at night ; and the Prince de Nas- 
sau, being only a simple vohuiteer, did not oflTer to salute it. 
2d, An oflScer without my orders, coming from Cherson, had 
saluted the prince without my authority, but they did not give 
him a single gun in return. 3d, The prince had not received 
the grade of vice admiral in the service of her imperial ma- 
jesty. 4th, I had no orders from the prince marshal to salute 
the Prince de Nassau. 5th, The latter had applied, in the last 
war between France and England, to serve with me, and, assu- 
redly, not as my commander ; for, though he has made a voy- 
age round the world, he does not yet understand the compass. 
6th, On saluting an officer of a superior grade, it is necessary 
to go on board his flag-ship to make a report and receive orders ; 
and I had in no-wise deserved so grave a punishment as to be 
put under the orders of the Prince de Nassau. Had the prince 
marshal been dissatisfied with my conduct on this occasion, he 
would have mentioned it to me, or issued an order. The prince 
of Nassau, however, has endeavoured to make it appear, at 
court especially, that his difference with me had no other foun- 
dation, than in my not choosing to salute his flag. He lowered 
it two or three days afterwards. How should he have done so, 
if he had been vice admiral ?* 

♦' The capitan pachat came out from day to day, to sound 



* Deeming it improper to garble the Journal, the whole of this logic is inserted. 
It may be inferred, that Jones was mistaken as to Nassau's representations at court ; 
and that his dwelling on this point indicates a morbid feeling. But he may have been 
correct. At all events, he was right in not saluting him; ;ind Nassau was weak and 
arrogant in claiming that compliment. 

t This old gentleman, for whom Jones always expresses great respect, as will have 
been observed, was worthy of it from any generous foe. He had returned from 



' PAUL JONES. 439 

and reconnoitre, in his kirlangitz, which sailed like the wind, 
and always displayed an admiral's flag. As the block fort and 
battery on the tongue of land at Kinbourn were only construct- 
ed of bags of sand, and were neither protected by ditch nor 
palisade, I was afraid that the capitan pacha might try to carry 
them by a sudden descent, which he could have done by land- 
ing five hundred men. 

** General Suvorrof had been dangerously wounded in a 
sortie made by the garrison of Oczakow, and had come to Kin- 
bourn. I convinced him that the block fort and battery seemed 
to be menaced, and as he had a greater quantity of chevaux de 
frize at Kinbourn, than he required, I suggested that he should 
employ what was superfluous in surrounding the block fort and 
battery. The general gave orders accordingly, and I ranged 
all my gun-boats and bomb-vessels hard by the strip of sand 
between the block fort and the battery. The sand served them 
as a parapet, so that there was a line of fire continued from the 
point quite to the battery. The small craft were, besides, 
always ready to change their position at the first movement of 
the enemy, and I placed the squadron so advantageously to 
communicate with the block fort and the battery, without con- 



Egypt, where he had been engaged in pacifying the country, distracted by the 
intrigues of the Beys Ibrahim and Amurath. One of Jones' biographers, who has 
translated the Journal of this campaign, (and his translation has been used, correcting 
some singular and very ignorant blunders,) has inferred that Jones was three-fourths 
a Russian before he left St. Petersburgh, because he was civil to the empress ; and 
afterwards, that he was half a Turk, because he did honour to the old Turkish admi 
ral's skill and courage. Such stuff is of a piece with Tooke's statement in the Life 
of Catharine II. that in the affair of the 18th June, " Prince Nassau displayed great 
bravery in this action ; but the victory was chiefly owing to the talents of Captain 
Fanshaw, an English officer, (of course,) with two French officers, Varage and Ver- 
bois, and above all, to the Dutch Captain Winter."* Either this person, who pre- 
tended to write a history including this campaign, was so culpably ignorant as not to 
know that Jones commanded the squadron in the Liman, or he still more culpably 
omitted to mention his name. 



* LifSe of Catharine n. Vol. Ul. p. 333. Am. £d . 



440 PAUL JONES. 

fining their fire, and to keep back the enemy by a cross fire, on 
their entering the channel of the Liman, that, though we were 
very weak compared with the Turkish fleet, the capitan pacha 
never either attempted to make a descent, or to force the pas- 
sage of the entrance of the Liman. 

" The prince marshal having ordered rear admiral Woyno- 
witch to sail from Sevastopole with the fleet under his com- 
mand, and that officer having raised obstacles, because his force 
was not, he conceived, powerful enough to attack that under 
the command of the capitan pacha, his highness sent me a let- 
ter, written by his chief secretary, Brigadier Popoft", on the 19th 
August, (old style,) proposing that I should go to Sevastopole to 
take command of the fleet.* It may be remembered that I was 
brought to Russia to command all the naval force in the Black 
Sea, consequently this proposition did not surprise me. Had 
the prince marshal ordered me to go, I would have proceeded 
immediately, but I would not have it appear that I sought to be 
sent. 1st, My naval signals had not yet been translated into 
the Russian language, as no attention had been given to my 
request for a person capable of translating them. 2dly, The 
naval signals used in that fleet were imperfect and very limited. 
3dly, I was acquainted with no one in the fleet, and I was aware 
that the prince marshal wished that it should come out the very 
day after my arrival at Sevastopole. 4thly, That fleet had 
been compelled to fly before that of the capitan pacha, at a time 
when he had two thousand fewer good seamen. 5thly, The 



♦ By the Pieces Justificatwes, it appears that on this day PopofF wrote him, that the 
prince marshal seemed disposed to send Jones to Sevastopole and give him the com- 
mand of the fleet. "Ishouldlikemuchtoknow,"he said, "what your excellency thinks 
of it, in order that, in case his highness should revert to that idea, I may speak to him 
more pertinently, of your sentiments on the matter." On the same day Jones replied, 
expressing his entire devotion to the service of the empress, and readiness to obey the 
orders of the prince marshal. There is nothing in his letter to indicate any disinclina- 
tion for the duty. It is strictly formal and proper, though it seems from what follows 
in the Journal, that he had objections to undertaking it immediately. It popped out 
of Potemkin'e head, as it had popped off from it, if we may be allowed a villanous 
paranomasia. 



PAUL JONES. 441 

fleet at Sevastopole was as weak as before, but that of the 
capitan pacha was stronger in craft, and had all the men re- 
placed that had been lost in the affair of the Liman. 6thly, I 
had just received preparatory orders from the prince marshal to 
attack Fort Hassan Pacha ;* and I hoped to show him the dif- 
ference between my fashion of attack and that of the 1st of July. t 
I replied, in answer to his letter, that being entirely devoted to 
the good of the state, his highness would find me eager to fulfil 
his orders. It was said, that some days afterwards the prince 
marshal sent positive orders to Admiral Woynowitch to come 
out, but that he always found reasons for not dealing farther 
with the capitan pacha. 

" On the 30th August, the Turks took a small lodka, freighted 
with water melons, belonging to the merchants of Kinbourn. 
In coming down the Liman the people on board had been foolish 
enough to pass too close to Oczakow. To ' punish the Turks' 
for this, the prince of Nassau, at evening, made his flotilla ad- 
vance to assault Oczakow ! I sent my secretary to head quarters, 
and in the meanwhile assembled the commanders of divisions 
of my gun-boats and bomb-vessels, and ordered them to bring 
forward their divisions, and form in line of battle between the 
squadron and Oczakow, ready to attack the fort of Hassan 
Pacha the moment orders should arrive. 

" Upon the return of the capitan pacha, M. Littlepage, 
chamberlain to the king of Poland, being then with the prince 
marshal, had solicited and obtained leave to command a division 
of my gun-boats. Night being come on, the chiefs of division 
wishing to bring forward their boats, found that thirteen of them 
had already quitted their posts, against the most positive orders 
to make no movement without their commanders of division. 
This movement had been occasioned by the rashness of a Greek 

* His orders on the 18th, were to advance with his gun-boats and bomb-ketches 
against this fort, as soon as the land batteries began to play on the fortress of Oczakow. 
The order is No. 46 of the PiSces Justificatives. 

t On the 19th, he transmitted a plan for the approbation of the prince. PUces Jus- 
tificatives, 47. 

55 



442 PAUL JONES. 

lieutenant belonging to the division of M. Littlepage. The 
boat of this Heutenant had fired eight shots against the place, 
and another six, but none of the rest had fired. As this lieu- 
tenant was the most to blame, I deprived him of his command, 
and sent him to head quarters, which was required by the prince 
marshal. 

" The prince of Nassau, who had very idly wasted a great 
deal of ammunition, pretended that my boats had prevented 
him from taking the whole Turkish flotilla !* The Greek lieu- 



* Here several letters are referred to, belonging to the Pieces Jttstificatives. No. 50 
is dated September 1st, being a letter from Ribas to Jones, informing him that the 
prince marshal did not know whether the commandants of the divisions which had so 
foolishly wasted powder in firing at Oczakow at so great a distance, were present at 
the time ; and that he had simply directed him (Ribas) to suggest that a good police 
must be preserved in the boats, which it would be less easy td keep up by diminishing 
the number of divisions. The brigadier adds; " I have advised Mavro-Maichailo to 
drink less ; to be more subordinate, and to keep himself quiet." The postscript states, 
that " The prince wishes to know why, without orders, these boats have been uselessly 
employed against the place, wasting a greatquantity of ammunition really valuable, and 
how much of it they expended." Jones says, in a note: " The prince occasioned this 
himself, by allowing subalterns to come and talk to him, and encouraging them in op- 
posing their superiors." No. 51 is a letter of the same date, from the rear admiral to 
Ribas, in reply, stating what is set forth in the text of the Journal. The Greek lieu- 
tenant's name was Clapakis, who, with the sub-lieutenant Saneffsky, were the only 
officers who directed the foolish firing against Oczakow. The rest of the letter affords 
details, which show that the rear admiral was blameless ; but which would be here 
irrelevant. No. 53 i.s a letter from JMr. Littlepage, to the grand general of Poland, 
dated on the 3d, he says : " I am very sorry that I could not find an opportunity last 
evening of explaining to you the history of the 30th August, which seems to have been 
very erroneously represented to the prince. What passed was, in a few words, as 
follows: As soon as we saw that the firing at night of the Prince de Nassau was sus- 
tained by the anillory on shore, the rear admiral assembled his commandants of divi- 
sion, to receive the orders and disposition which he expected on the part of the prince. 
But these orders not arriving, he despatched a chaloupe to the land, and ordered us to 
go and cause our respective divisions to advance and come to form line at anchor 
to the north of the Wolodimer. On arriving near the point of Kinbourn, we 
saw with astonishment that thirteen boats had already left their posts, against the most 
positive and repeated orders, not to make any movement without their chiefs of divi- 
sion. We caused the gun-boats and chaloupes which remained in the prescribed order 
to advance, and went thence to seek the others, under the cannon of the place. By 
midnight we had found all but two, which we were told had made sail to regain the 



PAUL JONES. 443 

tenant whom I had disgraced, instead of being punished, was 
promoted to the command of a double chaloupe, mounting two 
cmhmiers, that would throw 96 pounds weight of balls. M. 



squadron. None of these boats had fired, though the Turkish bullets had passed 
through several of them. We returned very late to the Wolodimer, when the admi- 
ral told us to resume our ancient posts. The firing had nearly ceased on all sides, and 
the wind having become fiesK, we expected every moment the return of the two 
missing boats, which did not appear until the morning to leeward. Chaloupes were 
sent to tow them to their place, and as they owned tiiat one had fired six and the 
other eight shots, the admiral deposed their commanders. The officer, Clapakis, 
confessing himself most to blame, he pardoned the other, and sent him ashore, where 
the prince has given him, it is said, the command of a double chaloupe. With all the 
submission we owe to the prince, tiiis example is pernicious to discipline. But what 
does honour to the presence of mind of M. the Prince de Nassau, is his having profited 
by this small circumstance to make a story out of it, and ascribes to it the bad success 
of his expedition. How 1 Can fourteen shots, fired almost out of gun-shot distance, 
have deranged the operations of his line, which was acting, or rather ought to liave 
been, against a part of the town absolutely opposite 1 Truly his prudence is praise- 
worthy. I remember that in the afl^airof July 1st, the fire of all his flotilla did not pre- 
vent Paul Jones from going in front with his chaloupe, and withdrawing from the 
flames a Tuikish galley, which was struck by several of our bullets while he was 
towing her. 

" For the rest, all this is too contemptible to merit attention. For what has hap- 
pened, personally disagreeable to myself in this Nassaurian cabal, I have little to say 
about it. I love and esteem the Prince de Potemkin. If he sees fit that I should re- 
lain command, I will endeavour to acquit myself for the best ; but I do not wish that 
the kindness he may be disposed to show to me, should prove in the smallest degree 
prejudicial to his service. I entreat him to explain himself on this point with frank- 
ness. I have nothing to lose or gain here ; for I am neither engaged in the war, as a 
necessary man like Paul Jones, nor as a necessitous one, like the Prince de Nassau." 

It will be seen thatM. Littlepage now stood in need of some of his own good advice; 
or rather that he had found how impossible it was to follow it, from personal expe- 
rience. On the 15th, we find he had resolved to withdraw from the service. His 
letter to the rear admiral was as follows : " My dear Sir — The resolution I have takei) 
to depart, and return to Warsaw, is not so precipitate as you appear to think, if you 
vvill please to recall to mind my last conversations with you. In a word, I found my- 
self in a situation where I might lose much, without gaining any thing ; but I am not 
so unreasonable as to complain of Prince Potemkin, who expresses regret at my de- 
parture, and wishes to retain me. He has spoken to me of his project of sending you 
to attack the capitan pacha, and had the air of not being contented, though he was 
singularly struck with my reasons to the contrary. I advised him to limit his operations 
to the siege of Oczakow, and to employ your force in blocking the Liman. He re- 
plied, ' the Liman is sufficiently blocked.' ' In what way V I asked. ' Do you not 



444 PAUL JONES. 

Littlepage gave a particular account of the whole affair in a 
letter to the grand general of Poland. 

'* A few days after this, the prince marshal sent rear admiral 
Mordwinoff on board the Wolodimer, to assemble all the cap- 
tains and master pilots of the squadron, to hold a council on the 
means of effecting a junction between the squadron of Cherson 
and the fleet of Sevastopole. It was said that the prince mar- 
shal had earnestly entreated this officer to take the affair upon 
himself, and that he had positively declined it. I can say 
nothing on this head ; I only know that it was a delicate step in 
relation to me, to send another officer on board my ship to hold 
a council ; and, above all, without having apprised me either 
by speech or writing. If I had been stickling, I would have put 
this officer under arrest, as he could show no authority nor pre- 
cedent for holding a council where I commanded. But as I 
was influenced by the good of the service above every personal 
consideration, I received Admiral Mordwinoff most amicably, 
and after dinner assembled the officers in question, for consul- 
tation. Many difficulties presented themselves to their minds 
against the proposed junction ; but as it was known that the prince 
marshal was determined on the measure, it was agreed that it 
could not be effected but at Hagdge-bay, upon the coast, between 
Beresane and the Danube, at the distance of fifty verstes* from 
the point of Kinbourn. I raised no obstacle. I only observed, 
that since it was pressingly necessaiy to beat the advanced 



see onr batteries?' was the reply. ' Yes,' said I, 'but I also see the distance between 
them. What effect can you expect from them, in a dark night, with a strong wind, 
from the sea?' He bit his nails, and told me he understood the Turks better tlian I 
did. So ended our conversation on this topic. As to my own affairs, I can enter into 
no other explanation, than that I was badly informed on the subject which brought nie 
ashore ; but I have made other discoveries. Adieu, my dear admiral, take care of 
yourself, and be cautious in whom you trust. Remember you have to sustain here a 
political as well as a military character ; and tliat your part is now rather that of a 
courtier than a soldier." Jones says in a note: "I never was made to play that 
part." 
* A verste is equal to 3500 English feet. 



PAUL JONES. 



445 



guard of the enemy before we could effect the proposed junc- 
tion, it was indispensable to station the squadron previously in 
the road of Oczakow, and to sail from thence with the wind 
from N. to N.N.W. to avoid being attacked on the way by the 
grand fleet of the Turks, and to keep it to the leeward till the 
junction was effected. It was only a few days previously that 
preparations had been begun to complete the armament of the 
Wolodimer and Alexander. 

" During this time her imperial majesty had sent twenty- 
four swords of massive gold, to head quarters, to be distributed 
among the officers on account of the battle of the Liman. The 
prince marshal himself received a gold sword, enriched with 
diamonds and emeralds ; and the prince of Nassau received one 
ornamented with a row of diamonds. There were a number of 
silver medals sent at the same time to be distributed among the 
soldiers and seamen. The swords had not yet been distributed, 
but the medals were all given to the men of the flotilla, and not 
a solitary one to the squadron. It is usual to give subalterns 
the more merit the more they are exposed to personal danger. 
The crews of the squadron had often towed the flotilla totally 
uncovered, and exposed to the fire of the enemy, whilst the 
people of the flotilla were screened by parapets made of bags of 
wool, by which the vessels were surrounded. 

" On the 18th September, I received a secret order from the 
prince marshal to attack the advanced guard of the enemy, 
anchored under Beresane.* His highness proposed to make 
the attack with the five frigates which had been sent to Glau- 
boca to be mounted as batteries ; and these frigates were to be 
supported by the other vessels of the squadron, excepting the 
Wolodimer and the Alexander, the arming of which went on 
very slowly on account of difficulties on the part of the admi- 
ralty. Two of the frigates, the Scoroi and the Boristhenes, 
had already rejoined the squadron. Before the equipments of 



* The order is No. 55 of the Piices Justijicatives. 



446 PAUL JONES. 

those frigates were altered, they carried more guns than are 
ever put, either by the French, or English, iiito ships of the same 
kind. The Scoroi, for example, carried 40 guns, and in Eng- 
land they would not have put more than 32 into her. She 
now carried 16 thirty-six pounders, and 4 licornes, eighteen 
pounders. 

" They called her ' a sea-battery.' The amount of her ca- 
libre now, compared with what it was before, had the advantage 
of 648 pounds over 452 ; but to gain this they had been obliged 
to open her port-holes en echiquier, because there was not room 
enough for recoii, to place the guns on each side opposite ; and 
for the same reason they were obliged after all to shift the 
guns from their places, and make a sort of platform for the 
purpose on the side of the ship. And so with the others. 
When it was resolved to mount thirty-sixes on the five frigates, 
it must be supposed that the fact had not been adverted to, that 
they had no bullets of that size, and that they would be obliged 
to use 24 pound shot. To remedy this, recourse was had to 
means entirely novel. The twenty-four pound bullets were dipped 
in pitch to make them fill up the bore of the thirty-sixes. The 
use of these pitched bullets seems dangerous for those who work 
the guns ; for if the smallest particle of the combustible material 
remains in the piece, it must set fire to the next cartridge; and a 
single such accident would damp the courage of the most resolute 
men. But, putting aside all these and many other inconve- 
niences, the only advantage gained by using the twenty-four pound 
bullets for the thirty-six pound guns on board the Scoroi, would 
be reduced to the difference between 456, the actual calibre, and 
452, the former. By experience it has been ascertained in the 
French marine, that two shots can be fired from an eighteen 
pounder for one from a thirty-six, if both pieces are worked 
with equal convenience. By this account it may be judged, 
whether the change in the armament of these frigates was a 
good or bad operation. Without presuming to decide the 
question, I will only say that, in my opinion, eighteen pounders 
are the largest and best for frigates. I think that guns of a 



PAUL JONES. 447 

larger calibre are worked too slowly, for vessels which have but 
one battery, and cannot keep up that rolling fire so necessary in 
attacking Turks. 

" The five frigates, of which I have perhaps spoken too 
much, appeared to me very fit to place behind a stoccado, or 
bar. But I never would make choice of ships of this kind for 
the sea service. The first broadside is all that is to be feared 
from them. 

" I replied in writing to the proposition of the prince marshal 
for attacking the advanced guard of the Turks near Beresane, 
and afterwards had a plan of attack drawn out for his inspec- 
tion. He was much pleased with it. As it was necessary to 
take advantage of a northerly wind to effect the enterprise, I 
proposed to the prince marshal to place the frigates in the road 
as soon as they arrived from Glauboca, to preserve, while wait- 
ing the attack of the line, a permanent blockade between 
Oczakow and the enemy outside. His highness said it was 
not yet time for this, and ordered me to place them in a line 
with the other vessels of my squadron, so as to make a display 
in the channel of the Liman. 

" In the end of the month, the Turkish fleet set sail in the 
night, followed by all the vessels that had lain under Beresane ; 
and we saw it at a great distance the next morning. The 
capitan pacha returned in about thirty-six hours, and resumed 
the position he had left. The only difference was, that he 
brought in some additional small vessels, and that he consider- 
ably reinforced his advanced guard under Beresane. As our 
flotilla, which ought to have blockaded the road, and cut off the 
communication with the small vessels on that side, were only 
there occasionally, as if by caprice, it was quite natural for the 
Turks to profit by its absence, and go out and in when they 
found the way clear. 

" The flotilla being to leeward, between my squadron and 
Kinbourn, on the 8th October, the capitan pacha sent off in the 
evening three vessels of his advanced guard, which entered 
Oczakow unmolested, by an open passage. Our flotilla made 



448 PAUL JONES. 

no movement. I made an attempt to intercept the enemy's 
progress with my gun-boats,* which I caused to be hauled to 
windward by the ships' boats of the squadron. But the wind 
being high, they could not bring them to attack. Our batteries 
nearest to Oczakow fired on the three Turkish vessels, but 
without being able to arrest their progress. It was now dark ; 
and, moreover, the distance between these batteries and the 
block fort on the side of Kinbourn, being seven verstes, the 
land batteries never could have prevented either the entrance 
or exit of small vessels. To command the entrance of the 
Liman, I think it is requisite to establish a fort, with two bat- 
teries, one over the other on the shallows which run out a con- 
siderable distance from the point of sand off Kinbourn, towards 
Beresane, and which would command even the entrance of the 
road of Oczakow. 

*' One of the Turkish ships had the folly to cast anchor in the 
shallows of Fort Hassan Pacha ; and at daybreak on the 9th, 
being within shot of our most advanced land battery, was struck 
between wind and water, arid sunk ; the other two vessels got 
in without difficulty. 

" I have already mentioned, that on the 18th of August, I 
received a preparatory order for attacking the fortress of Has- 
san Pacha with my bomb-vessels, and the chaloupes armed with 
licornes and mortars. I expected from day to day an order for 
action, and had in consequence bestowed much pains in training 
my men to the necessary evolutions ; but the final orders never 
arrived. 

" The prince of Nassau having caballed against my plan of 
attack, it was set aside ; and by a new arrangement, which I 
was commanded to form with General Muller, commander in 



* Piices Justificatives, No. 59, is a letter from Potemkin, demanding why three ves- 
sels were allowed to pass unmolested by the fleet. No. 60, is an explanation in reply, 
by Jones, to the same effect as is stated in the Journal ; adding, that without a blockade 
constantly kept up, the Turks could always, under like circumstances, enter with their 
small ves.«iels. 



PAXIL JONES. 449 

chief of artillery, I was destined to assault the intrenchment, 
and the Turkish batteries on the shore of the road. 

" On the 9th of October, the flotilla advanced from the shores 
of Kinbourn, and attacked Oczakow ; but this attack was con- 
ducted and ended in the very same manner as that of the 30th 
August, save that a small vessel of the Turkish flotilla was 
stranded, which lay farther out than any of the others, on the 
shallows this side of Fort Hassan Pacha. 

" On the 10th of October, I received another preparatory 
order ; and soon afterwards was ordered to give up all the boats 
to the flotilla.* Towards evening I went to head quarters to 
take particidar orders in relation to these boats. The prince 
marshal told me he had the strongest desire to pitch overboard 
a large piece of artillery placed on the fore-part of the vessel of 
the Turkish flotilla that stood farthest out, and which had run 
aground. I imagined at the time that there was no other vessel 
run aground save the one in the road, which was at the distance 
of a verste from the fortress of Hassan Pacha ; so I said the 
the thing was quite easy ; for although the Turks should come 
up in foi 7e to defend the vessel, there would always be time to 
spike the piece of cannon. It was night when I undertook this 
little enterprise. I did not imagine the prince marshal attached 
so much importance to it as to wish that I should conduct it in 
person. I contided it to Lieutenant Edwards, a brave and an 
intelligent man, whom I wished to reward for past services. 
1st, On the 1st of July, he had followed me throughout, and was 
a long time with me in the galley of the capitan pacha. 2dly, 
He had followed me on the night of the 20th of July, and had 
boarded, and cut the table of the vessel which I took opposite 
the fortress of Hassan Pacha. 3dly, He had assisted me some 
days afterwards, when, by orders of the prince marshal, we made 
trial of bombarding the fort from one of the bomb-vessels ; from 



* Pieces Jitetificatives, Nos. 61, 63. The orders are dated on tlie 9th. The latter 
directed all the gun-boats to be delivered to the flotilla ; stating that double chaloupes 
more proper for the sea, would be substituted. 

56 



450 PAUL JONES. 

which service we had some difficulty in withdrawing, as the 
wind which, rising at the moment, kept us for a long while 
under the fire of the enemy's musketry, which wounded some 
of our men. 

" Mr. Edwards returned before daybreak, without having 
succeeded. He said there were a great many men in the ship, 
who fired on him, and that he durst not board her, he was so 
ill supported. I was so vexed that he had failed, that in my 
report to the prince marshal, I said, that I would conduct the 
enterprise myself next night, if that would satisfy him. The 
prince marshal held me at my word ; but it was eleven at night 
when Mr. Edwards returned with the order. The wind, which 
was high, was quite against me, as well as a strong tide ; and I 
would have deferred the attempt, if I had not conceived my 
honour pledged. I was led to hope, that after midnight the 
wind might fall, and the strength of the tide lessen, if it did not 
change. The night was very dark, and the rain fell in torrents. 
I waited till two o'clock, whefn the moon rose, I had with me 
five armed canoes, and I calculated on being followed by four 
hatteavjc Zaporavians, and by one of the armed vessels I had 
taken from the Turks ; but it was impossible to tow them against 
wind and tide, and I was compelled to go on as I best could, 
with only my five canoes. I have noticed that our flotilla had 
run aground a small Turkish vessel in the shallows of the for- 
tress of Hassan Pacha, but I did not perceive this till the 11th, 
after I had despatched Mr. Edwards to head quarters, because 
the vessel lay so near the fortress, where the water is of little 
depth, that it had only sunk a foot or fifteen inches, and conse- 
quently appeared as if still afioat. As the prince marshal had 
only spoken to me of the farthest out of the Turkish flotilla, I 
began to think he meant to designate the one nearest the fortress, 
in which idea I was confirmed by Mr. Edwards, at his return 
from head quarters, telling me he had heard ashore that the 
vessel run down in the road had been visited, but that nothing 
had been found there. I rowed for the vessel nearest the for- 
tress, which carried, like most of the others alongside, a large 



PAUL JONES. 451 

cannon in her bow ; but, after having fatigued my rowers, I 
was vexed to see daylight appear, whilst I had still more than 
a verste to go before I could reach the vessel. I returned on 
board my own ship, to prevent a useless alarm, being persuaded 
I should succeed next night. Without waiting to receive my 
report, the prince marshal sent me orders ' to abandon the en- 
terprise, for he had intrusted it to other ships.'* There was 
fine weather on the night between the 12th and 13th, but the 
' other ships' did nothing ; and the Turks availed themselves 
of an open way to bring out all their flotilla, which rejoined 
the ships of the advanced guard under Beresane. 

"Some days afterwards, a colonel of Cossacks boarded the 
vessel run down in the road, and set fire to it, by leaving in it 
lighted brandcouglesj for which he received public thanks. 

" On the 13th, the prince marshal wished to'i^stablish a per- 
manent line of blockade in the road, by placing my frigates 
there, and some other small vessels. He wrote me a letter on 
this subject, on that day, which contained things that strongly 
affected me, and to which I replied next day, with perhaps 
too much freedom and warmth.t This occasioned an inter- 



* Such is the phraseology of the laconic order. Piices Justificatives, No. 65. 

t The following is the order of Poterakin referred to, being No. 66 of the Piices 
Justificatives. 

" Order to Rear Admiral Chevalier PaulJ ones. 

" As it is seen that the capitan pacha comes in his kirlangitch from the grand fleet to 
the smaller vessels, and as before quilting this he may resolve to attempt something, I 
request your excellency, the capitan pacha having actually a greater number of ves- 
sels, to hold yourself in readiness to receive him courageously, and drive him back. 
I require that this be done without loss of time ; if not, you will be made answerable 
for every neglect. I have already ordered the flotilla to approach. 

" Prince PoTEMKI^f Tauricien. 
" mh October, 1788." 

To this order Jones has affixed the following note : — " A warrior is always ready, 
and I had not come there an apprentice." 

The following was the reply of /onejs. 



452 PAUL JONES. 

change of letters between his highness and myself, which was 
only terminated on the 18th, by the arrival of admiral Mordwi- 
noff, to take command of the squadron and the flotilla; for the 



" Wolodimer, before Oczakow, 
October, 14, 1788. 

" MONSEIGNEUR, 

"I have the honour to transmit to your highness a plan of the position in which I 
placed the squadron under my command this morning, in conformity to your or- 
ders of yesterda^^ During the time I was charged with the blockade of the road 
of Oczakow and thV passage of the Liman, all communication between the place and 
the enemy outside was entirely -^ut off. But when the flotilla of the capitan pacha 
was on its return, your highness thought that my small vessels were too much expo- 
sed in the road, and ordered me to have them brought in to aid me in blocking the 
passage of the Liman. That passage has been so well blocked hitherto, that the capi- 
tan pacha, notwithstanding his great superiority, has never dared to attempt forcing it. 
But since his arrival, I hold myself in no-wise responsible for the entry and exit of the 
enemy by the road. [He says in a note : ' The flotilla under the Prince de Nassau's 
orders was charged with cutting off* the communication of the small vessels of the 
enemy through the road. It had suffered the Turkish flotilla to escape.'] I have 
always conformed myself immediately, without murmuring, and most exactly, to the 
commands of your highness ; and on occasions when you have deigned to leave any 
thing to my own discretion, I have been exceedingly flattered, and believe you have 
had no occasion to repent. At present, in case the capitan pacha does resolve on 
attempting any thing before his departure, I can give assurance beforehand, that the 
brave officers and crews I have the honour to command will do their duty ' courageous- 
ly,' though they have not yet been rewarded for the important services they have 
already performed for the empire under my eyes. I answer with my honour, to ex- 
plain myself fairly on this delicate point at the end of the campaign. In the mean- 
while, I may merely say, that it is upon the sacred promise I -have given them of de- 
manding justice from your highness in their behalf, that they have consented to stifle 
their grievances and keep silent." 

He added, that as he was made responsible for " negligence," his duty demanded 
that he should reclaim the officers, gunners, and seamen of the twenty gun-boats and 
bomb-vessels which were no longer under his orders, which were essentially wanted 
on board the frigates in the road. The soldiers attached to them belonging to the 
land forces might, he said, be replaced by other troops. Potemkin's order on the same 
day, was as follows: "As you are at present in want of seamen, and in reference to 
the difficulty represented, that your squadron cannot be kept in its present position, I 
direct your excellency to re-station it in its first place, until the people on board the 
gun-boats shall be restored to you." . Jones wrote on the next day, in these terms : 
" On reading over the letter I had the honour to address to your highness, I do not 
find that I represented the squadron under my orders as being unable to retain its pre- 
sent position. I meant only to state that the crews of the frigates and some of the other 



PAUL JONES. 453 

prince of Nassau had set off for Warsaw some days after his 

affair of the 9th, with which the prince marshal had been much 

* dissatisfied. I at the same time received orders from her im- 



boats with which I have formed the line of blockade, are too weak to make the neces- 
sary defence in case of attack. You will perceive this as well as I do, by the particu- 
lars subjoined. The wind seems to me too strong to make the boats return this morn- 
ing. It will be difficult, probably impracticable, for them to double the sand bank, in 
their route to the north of the channel. I leave it in their discretion to return if they 
can ; but it is in order to obey, and not with any reference to my difficulties. I do not 
recollect having yet made any. I will even take the liberty of saying, with submis- 
sion, that, to make these boats return, will not, in my opinion, have a good effect for 
us in the mind of the enemy ; and if the flotilla goes away every time the wind begins 
to blow, experience has taught us that the Turks will not fail to profit by the way 
being open, to make their small vessels pass through the road." The order of this 
day, (the 15th,) with the comments of Jones, is as follows : " Ydlkr excellency finds 
the present line of your squadron weak for defence ; it is, in consequence, useless. [I 
did not say that.] Besides the number of the crews, which is deficient, cannot conve- 
niently be replaced on board of vessels in that position. [I only asked leave to try it. J 
I see no difficulties to prevent your occupying the first disposition; it may be done 
forthwith ; and if I believed [I believed so, strongly, myself,] that the movement would 
produce a bad effect in the mind of the enemy, I would not do it. The position you 
occupied impedes the fire of our land batteries." [Only of one small battery, most 
advanced toward Oczakow and newly built.] The next day Jones wrote that he had 
given the desired orders for the return of the frigates and boats, but a hard gale bad 
prevented it ; and repeated that the complement of their crews might be put on board 
in their existing situation, and that the return would have a bad effect, &c. " Every 
man who thinks," he said, "is master of his own opinion; and this is mine." He 
suggested that they might be reinforced by soldiers; in consequence of which an order 
to that eff"ect was given next day, with peremptory directions for a change in the posi- 
tion of the line. This order concluded with a repetition of the phrase which had 
already given such offence. " Should the enemy attempt to pass to Oczakow," the 
prince wrote, " prevent him by every means, and defend yourself courageously.'' The 
annotation of Jones is: " It will be hard to believe that Prince Potemkin addressed 
such words to Paul Jones." On the same day, he informed the prince that he had 
taken soundings in the road of Oczakow in the morning, and thought the line of block- 
ade might be formed in the manner he requested, so as not to impede the fire of the 
batteries on each side. His next letter is dated on the 18th, and is of some length. 
He begins by explaining the aflTair of the Turkish vessel which was aground, and in 
relation to which he had misapprehended the wishes of the prince. He seems to have 
suspected that his gallantry had been impeached, and that his non-success in this small 
matter had been the leading cause of discontent. He had, however, made full and 
satisfactory explanations before. He proceeded to say : " I now feel that / was noiin 
my place. I leave to your highness, as you have a noble heart and magnanimous soul. 



454 PAUL JONES. 

perial majesty to go to St. Petersburgh to be employed in the 
North Sea. Sweden had declared war against Russia at the 
commencement of the campaign, and Admiral Greig, who had* 



to judge whether I ought not to have been offended at your sudden order of the next 
morning, (the 12th,) before you had heard any reasons I had to offer. By that order, 
I was directed ' to abandon the enterprise, because you had intrusted it to other ves- 
sels.' Had not that order been given, the Turkish flotilla would not have been able 
to escape on the night between the 12th and 13th, for I should have been there again. 
Your highness will judge, how an officer, who fears nothing and had nothing where- 
with to reproach himself, must have been affected by your order of the 13th. I was 
directed to keep myself in readiness to receive the enemy * courageously, and that 
without loss of time ; for if not,' &.c. I was in despair. Having been all heart and 
soul for the good of the service, and having done all that a man of honour could to in- 
spire a confidence which J believed I had deserved at your hands, allow me, my prince, 
to ask you how it happens, that I have been so unhappy as to have lost your regard ? 
My enemies themselves cannot refuse me their respect. General Compte de Mamo- 
now assured me of your confidence in me, giving me the most flattering hope of your 
friendship ; and her imperial majesty told me the most obliging things to the same 
effect. At all events, your highness has so good a heart, that you will excuse the 
hastiness of expression which escaped me in my letter of the 14th. I am anxious to 
continue in the service. It is unnecessary to recite either the prpmises or the offers 
which have been made to me. I am disposed to do all that can be asked of a man of 
honour, in my situation ; and if you find in me an acquisition to the imperial marine, it 
belongs to yourself to fix me in Russia. But as I come hither neither as an adventurer 
nor a charlatan to repair a broken fortune, I hope in future to experience no humilia- 
tion, and soon to find myself in the situation which was promised to me, when I was 
invited to enter into the marine of the empress. Perhaps I love honours too much ; 
but as to fortune, though my own is not very great, I never bent the knee to that idol. 
I well know that riches do not insure happiness. I am sure of one thing, if I had 
the happiness of once enjoying your confidence, it would be for life, for I am not of a 
character that can change." But the removal of Jones had been determined upon, 
not to command the fleet in the north, nor probably, merely in consequence of his let- 
ter of the 14th, by the imperious Potemkin. On the same 18th day of October, O. S. 
he received the following order : " According to the special desire of her imperial ma- 
jesty, your service is fixed in the northern seas; and as this squadron, and the flotilla, 
are placed by me under the orders of the vice admiral and the Chevalier de Mordwinoff, 
your excellency may m consequence proceed on the voyage directed; principally, as 
the squadron in the Liman, on account of the season being so far advanced, cannot 
now be united with that of Sevastopole." 

On the 20th, Jones wrote to Potemkin that he had given up his command pursuant 
to orders, to Rear Admiral Mordwinoff. " I am much flattered that her majesty yet 
deigns to interest herself about me ; but what I shall for ever regret is, the loss of your 
regard. I will not say that it is diflicuU to find more skilful sea officers than myself; 



1 



PAUL JONES. 466 

commanded the Russian fleet, having died, I was assured her 
majesty had very important views in recalling me. Yet I could 
not but feel grieved to be deprived of my command when the 
campaign, so far as regarded maritime operations, was so nearly 
concluded. 

*' As soon as the prince of Nassau went off, all the gold 
swords were distributed to the officers of the flotilla. It is easy 
to imagine that this arrangement, as well as many others which 
preceded it, was not calculated to give me pleasure. The cap-, 
ture of the Turkish galley, and the boarding of the galley of 
the capitan pacha on the 1st of July, were without dispute the 
most brilliant actions of the campaign of the Liman. The 
credit of them was most unjustly given to the flotilla, and my 
officers remained without any reward for the important services 
which they had rendered in these affairs, beside those of the 
18th of June, the 30th of August, and the 9th of October, from 
which they reaped no advantage. After the gold swords had 
been distributed, I myself heard several of the officers who got 
them express their astonishment, not being able to guess for 
what they had been so highly rewarded. 

" It is worthy of notice, that all the large vessels which the 
flotilla attacked were previously aground. In this case, they 
might be compared to men with their feet nailed to planks, and 



1 know well that it is a very possible thing ; but I feel emboldened to say that you will 
never find a man more susceptible of a faithful attachment or more zealous in the dis- 
charge of his duty. I forgive my enemies who are near you for the painful blow aimed 
at me ; but if there is a just God, it will be difficult for him to do as much. [In a 
note he says : " When I took leave of the prince at his head quarters some days after- 
wards, he said to me, ' Don't believe that any one leads me ! No one leads mc :' and 
getting up and stamping with his foot, he added, ' Not even the empress.' "] I wish you, 
my prince, complete success in your military operations, and continued happiness during 
the rest of your life." On the 36th, he again wrote to Potemkin, stating that when he 
first received the communication of her majesty's pleasure, fixing his service in the 
North Sea, he did not reflect that the season was too far advanced for warlike opera- 
tions before the ensuing year ; and that to show himself deserving the order of St. 
Anne which he had received from her majesty, he would with pleasure volunteer to 
execute whatever service the prince might point out for the good of the empire. The 
reply is stated in the Journal. PopoiF's services were again put in requisition. 



450 PAUL JONES. 

their hands tied behind their backs. This is the only instance in 
history of ships aground, and out of the possibiUty of being recap- 
tured, being attacked and destroyed, with their crews, by com- 
bustibles such as the Brandcougles. It may be recollected, 
that during the whole campaign the flotilla had not taken even 
one small vessel afloat. Since a very mistaken notion has been 
formed of the vessels taken in the Liman on the 17th and 18th 
of June, which have been called ' ships of the line,' it is but 
right to say that I made Lieutenant Fox measure the hulls of 
tlje two largest, and we found that the size of the one was 130, and 
of the other 135 feet English in total length, in the line of their 
first battery. Apply this to naval architecture. Yet the prince 
of Nassau has been rewarded in a brilliant manner for 'having 
destroyed six, and captured two ships of the line.' The only 
three-masted vessel which escaped burning upon the 18th 
June, was a caravel of one battery, and four pieces between 
decks. There escaped also one small brigantine of 14 three 
pounders. Such were the two vessels of the line that were cap- 
tured, and the latter was wrecked next day by the carelessness 
of those who had the charge of her. In place of eight vessels 
of the line, the capitan pacha had come into the Liman with only 
a detachment of caravels, or large merchantmen, frigates, bomb 
ships, and other smaller craft. Only four of the caravels car 
ried guns between decks. Of this number was the vessel saved. 
On one of these four vessels was displayed a square flag ; but 
there was the same on the galley and the kirlangitch of the capi- 
tan pacha. It has been already said that the grand fleet with- 
out Kinbourn displayed three admiral's flags. But by the his- 
tory of the campaign given by the prince of Nassau, it appears 
that the capitan pacha had lost his best ship, manned with the 
picked men of his fleet, and his only flag as grand admiral, 
while it is well known that at the end of the campaign he went 
back to Constantinople with all the ships of the line he had at 
its commencement. 

" As I was told that some ill-intentioned persons in the army 
had aaid that I had been deprived of my command because the 



PAUL JONES. 457 

officers were unwilling to serve under me, I endeavoured to 
procure testimonials to the contrary, and have seen with regret 
that the mind is not always free ; and that men sometimes dare 
not render homage to truth.* 

" The last of the five frigates, called at the time, 'sea bat- 
teries,' did not rejoin the squadron until the 19th October, and 
on the same day, Admiral Mordwinoff placed the line of the 
blockading vessels in the road, much further out than before, 
so as to mask the fire of all the guns ashore, on both sides. It 
was ill-judged, because the land batteries ought always to be 
able to flank a line of blockade, formed by vessels or floating 
batteries. On the 20th, the wind being rather fresh from the 
north, the admiral made a signal at 3 p. 31. for all the flotilla to 
leave the road, and come while it was in their favour to take 
station near Kinbourn. This movement was entirely unneces- 
sary for the safety of the flotilla ; but the capitan pacha availed 
himself of it, and got in, on the same night, twenty-four vessels 
loaded with ammunition for the garrison, and having onboard, 
besides their crews, 2700 men. The flotilla attacked these ves- 
sels on the succeeding days ; but the Turks, having taken out 
their cargoes, hauled them up on the road, under the cannon of 
their batteries where much harm could not be done to them. 



* Pieces Justificatives, No. 80, is a full certificate to the effect Jones wished, signed 
by Captain Afansio Rofstopoioff, commander of the St. Anne, before Oczakow, on the 
31st October. It is attested by the secretary DmitrefFsky and John Cramp assistant secre- 
tary, cornet of a regiment of cuirassiers. They certify that the captain came onboard the 
Wolodimer on the 4th November, and prayed the rear admiral to return the original 
attestation, in the Russian language ; as he had learned that having given it would do 
him much injury in the mind of Prince Potemkin, though it contained nothing but ^wre 
truth. It was accordingly burned in his presence, the French translation being re- 
tained. There is also a certificate to the same effect, the Russian original of which 
is preserved by Lieutenant Mihalopokoft', commandant of one of the vessels, called the 
Maillet ; which is stated in the French attestation to have been hridS, but seems to 
have been burned only figuratively, like the odd card in some French games; and 
another, which was not signed, by any of the commanders, but the attestation of which 
sets forth that in addition to the two above named, all the others, while avowing to M. 
DmitrefFsky that for imperative reasons they could not subscribe it, declared, after 
hearing it read, that they found nothing in it contrary to pure truth. 

57 



458 PAUL JONES. 

" Having reflected that the season was too far advanced to 
render my services necessary in the North Sea before the follow- 
ing year, I wrote to the prince marshal, offering to continue my 
services till the end of the campaign. 1 was indebted to him 
for the order of St. Anne, and I have a heart naturally grate- 
ful. He directed his secretary, M. Popoff", to write me, that 
since I was recalled by the order of the empress, it was neces- 
sary I should go. 

"I was invited tp head quarters to take leave, and to receive 
a letter from the prince marshal for her imperial majesty. As 
I was much interested personally, and still more so in relation 
to my officers, I after dinner spoke freely, and told M. Popoff" 
all that was on my mind. This brigadier repeated what I had 
said to the prince marshal. He was vexed at first, but after- 
wards he sent for me to talk with him. Without failing in the 
respect due to him, I spoke to him freely enough. I told him 
he had played an unfair game at the opening of the campaign 
in dividing the command in the Liman in the existing circum- 
stances of the country ; and that, if I had not resolved to sacri- 
fice my own feelings in order to manage the persons he had 
given me for colleagues, the campaign would have taken a very 
different turn. He replied, 'agreed; but it is too late now.' He 
then said, he would be glad to see me fixed in Russia, and that 
he was disposed to give me solid proofs of his esteem, both now 
and in future. I showed him the testimonial of the captain of 
the Wolodimer, and some other papers, to convince him that he 
had neither done justice to me nor to the squadron. He said 
the prince of Nassau pretended all was done by himself; 'but 
I have never,' said he, ' been deceived in him. I have always 
known him for what he is.' He proposed that I should go to 
Tagenroc to equip and command a squadron he was building 
there ; but, as I had been brought to Russia to take the chief 
command in the Black Sea, and had received orders from the 
empress to repair to St. Petersburgh, I declined the offer. I 
only entreated that he would consider the services of my officers, 
and give them the seniority thev had lost by the promotion of 



PAUL JONES. 459 

those officers of the flotilla who did not belong to the naval ser- 
vice. Admiral MordwinofF made the same request, and the 
prince promised to do them justice. 

" Two days afterwards, I received a letter from the prince 
marshal for the empress, in which he noticed the zeal and 
anxiety I had ever shown for her service, and to render myself 
worthy of her favour.* 

" On the 4th November, the capitan pacha having withdrawn 
his advanced guard in the night, set sail in the morning with 
his whole force, entering first Varna, and afterwards Constan- 
tinople, with every ship of the line he had at the opening of the 
campaign. It is singular that this enterprising commander did 
not attempt to force the entrance of the Liman ; for Admiral 
Mordwinoff had placed the squadron in so exposed and disad- 
vantageous a situation, that the fire of the land batteries, which 
should have flanked him without, was entirely covered. But it 
may be presumed that the Turkish admiral believed he had 
done enough for the safety of Oczakow by the succours he had 
thrown into the place. 

" On the morning of the 7th, agreeably to a secret order from 
the prince marshal, the Zaporavians landed, to the number of 
2000, on the Island of Beresane. The Turkish garrison being 
only 300 strong, fired a few random shots, and then surrendered 
at discretion. 

" Having given the officers whom I had commanded such 
testimonials as they merited, I embarked on the morning of the 
9th November, in a small open galley for Cherson. I was three 
days and three nights on the way, and suffered a great deal 



* No. 92 of the Pieces Jitstificatwes : " Madam — In sending to the high throne of 
your imperial majesty, Rear Admiral M. Paul Jones, I take, with submission, the 
liberty of certifying the eagerness and zeal which he has ever shown for the service of 
your imperial majesty, and to render himself worthy of the high favour of your impe- 
rial majesty. 

" From the most faithful subject of your imperial majesty, 
" Prince Potemkin Tauricien. 
' October 31, 1788." 



460 PAUL JONES. 

from the excessive cold. The day after my arrival, the river 
was frozen up, and I was taken dangerously ill. My health 
was not sufficiently re-established to enable me to proceed 
before the 6th of December. Having arrived at St. Elizabeth, . 
I received intelligence that Oczakow had been taken by storm 
on the Gthi The garrison was eleven thousand strong, including 
the three thousand that the capitan pacha had thrown into the 
place before he sailed. But the cold had become extreme,* 
and the Russian army being formed in six columns to attack 
the place at day-dawn, the Turks were completely disconcerted. 
Judging from the past, they expected no such visit ; and, be- 
coming panic struck, suffered their throats to be cut like so 
many sheep. In the fury of the assault the Russian soldiers 
spared nothing. I have been assured, that from eighteen to 
nineteen thousand Turks perished on that day ! 

" As I wished to delay my arrival at court till that of the 
prince marshal, I stopped some days at Skloft', where General 
Soritsch loaded me with civilities. 1 arrived at St. Petersburgh 
on the 28th December, and was ordered to appear at court on 
the 31st, when her imperial majesty did me the honour of 
granting me a private audience. I presented the letter the 
prince marshal had given me. A few days afterwards, the em- 
press sent me word, through Count de Dmitrigus-Mamonow, 
that she must wait the arrival of Prince Potemkin before deci- 
ding on what she would do for me. In the meanwhile Count 
Besborodko told me, that a command of greater importance was 
intended for me than that of the Black Sea. 

" On the 1st February, the prince marshal not having yet 
arrived, I gave in to the vice chancellor, Count d'Osterman, a 
project for forming an alliance, political and commercial, be- 
tween Russia and the United States. As the object of this 
project was reciprocal advantages, and, above all, to encourage 
the commerce of the Black Sea, and of the settlements on the 



* Twenty-six degrees. 



PAUL JONES. 461 

Crimea, I had long intended to transmit it to the prince mar- 
shal ; and on his arrival at court, about the middle of February, 
I sent him a copy. Some time afterwards, he took me into his 
cabinet, and said that my plan contained good ideas ; but that 
he did not think it expedient to adopt it at this time, as it might 
still further irritate the English against Russia, and that it 
was necessary first to make peace with the Turks. 

" I might make many remarks about the fleet and flotilla of 
Cherson, but shall say but little at present. I have already ob- 
served that the Turkish vessels, large and small, have a decided 
advantage over the Russians, in their movement. The Marshal 
de Saxe said of land armies, that ' the whole secret of their 
drill, and all that of war, is dans lesjambes.' [Basting the legs, 
according to Touchstone.] This expression, apparently obscure, 
envelops a profound and sensible meaning, and may be applied 
with still more force to the operations of naval armaments. Let 
me command a fleet superior in its sailing, and equal in force — to 
beat the enemy. I learned with regret, that the vessels of war 
built at Cherson became rotten, in general, at the end of six years. 
This seems to me more extraordinary, as before the present 
war, France got excellent timber for building, from the Dnieper 
for the king's yards at Toulon. It is said that the admiralty of 
the Black Sea spends enormous sums yearly. 1 cannot vouch for 
the correctness of the statement ; but I know that the fleet does 
not look like it. In Denmark, where order and economy prevail, 
persons entitled to credit have informed me, that it costs the 
State but 5,050,000 rix dollars, per annum, to maintain a fleet of 
from 25 to 30 ships of the line, with frigates and other small 
vessels in proportion, and 4000 seamen in regular pay. The 
ships of war built at Copenhagen, last sixteen years, without 
requiring any repairs of consequence. My respect for Prince 
Potemkin, who created the fleet of the Liman, makes me regret 
that it should have been built on false principles, unable to sus- 
tain its enormous artillery, or to manoeuvre properly on the 
Black Sea ; while the Turkish fleet crossed it at its pleasure. 
The commerce of the Black Sea is an object of great impor- 



462 PAUL JONES. 

tance ; but this commerce, so advantageous to Russia, will 
always be annoyed and often interrupted by the Turks, till Rus 
sia has a stronger fleet in the Black Sea to hold a rod over 
them, and to place the keys of Constantinople in the hands of 
the empress. Russia having all the requisite materials, in 
making the necessary arrangements with order and economy, 
(without speaking of war, to avoid exciting suspicions in powers 
jealous of her glory,) this deficiency might be supplied in a few 
years. The means of obtaining good seamen is to create a 
merchant trade, to form an alliance with the United States, 
and to have a squadron of evolution on the Black Sea, directed 
by an admiral and a properly instructed staff*. 

"I have always believed that Russia requires a port on the 
Asiastic side, opposite the Crimea, to protect thie fleet from 
flaws of wind and currents, and to be, as it were, a sentinel post 
on the Turks. I have thought of Sinople for this purpose, and 
I spoke of it to the empress and Prince Potemkin ; but, being 
better informed, I found a more suitable situation, where I am 
certain such a post could be securely established at small cost, 
and beard the whole Ottoman empire. This place is a penin- 
sula between Sinople and Constantinople. 

" I must be permitted to conclude my journal with some re- 
flections naturally suggested by matters affecting my personal 
honour. I have never been able to conjecture the reason which 
made Prince Potemkin order Admiral Mordwinoff" to give up 
to him the official account of our operations, which I had drawn 
up in conformity to the orders of the admiralty of the Black 
Sea, as I was assured he had done, both by Admiral 3Iordwi- 
noff and his brother-in-law, (his wife's brother.) No more could 
I o-uess why Prince Potemkin had given orders that no notice 
should be taken of my loss of the frigate Alexander, which was 
run aarround in the battle of the 17th June. This information 
also I had from Admiral Mordwinoff* after I had given up to him 
the command of the squadron. I have been assured, by him, 
that this frigate was, in consequence, always retained on th-e 
list of the marine. When I found that I received no testimony 



PAUL JONES. 463 

of the satisfaction of the empress, with my conduct, in this af- 
fair, and on other occasions very interesting to the empire, I 
was compelled to think that she had been ill informed, for her 
ambition is to be esteemed the most magnanimous and the most 
generous of all sovereigns. I received a letter from the minis- 
ter of the United States (to the court of Versailles,) dated Paris, 
the 23d March, 1789, which began by telling me, that a letter 
he had received from me, dated at St. Petersburgh, the 31st 
January, was the only proof my friends had of my existence since I 
had left Copenhagen.* If I had played the part of a cipher in 
the campaign of the Liman, it was for the first time. I either 
deserved to lose my head, or the plans of the operations on the 
Liman, which had been got up in St. Petersburgh during the 
winter, and which I saw with astonishment in the office of M. 
PopofF, ought to be burnt. I assert, that they are false even in 
the most trifling details. 

" I have acted a public and distinguished part for fifteen years 
among an enlightened people, where the press is free, and where 
the whole conduct of every man is open to discussion, and sub- 
ject to the judgment of his fellow-citizens. No man can play 
the hypocrite during so long a period in a career so trying as 
was mine. It was natural for the prince of Nassau and Briga- 
dier Alexiano to be my enemies, for they both sought only their 
own advantage ; and Prince Potemkin, who knew better, erred 
in judgment in placing me in competition with them ; but how 



* In Russia, letters were systematically intercepted. This was part of the policy of 
the government ; and such things have been heard of in that country, even of later 
date than the reign of Catherine II. When the Archduke Paul was permitted to 
travel through Europe with the archduchess, he was so well aware of the jealousy of 
his mother and her government, that he arranged a private correspondence to be for- 
warded to the Swedish post-offices by couriers. Kis correspondent was a young aid- 
de-camp, Bibikoff, who sometimes permitted himself to describe persons about the 
court without sufficient regard to decorum Among those honoured with his notice 
was One Eye, as he termed Potemkin. The courier was intercepted at Riga, and 
Paul's witty correspondent was exiled to Astracan, where he shortly died. — Note in the 
Edinburgh Life. 



464 PAUL JONES. 

happened it that I had around Prince Potemkin other enemies 
as powerful as they were maUcious ? I ought to have found only 
friends in Russia, for I have served that empire faithfully and 
well. The manner in which Prince Potemkin has changed m 
regard to me, since the commencement of the war, exceeds all 
imagination. While he supposed, at first, that my services would 
be an acquisition in directing the maritime operations against 
the Turks, the Admirals Mordwinoff and Woynowitch entirely 
lost his confidence as officers ; and it is evident, that Woynowitch 
had not regained it on the 19th of August, when it was proposed 
that I should go to Sevastopole to take command of the fleet. 
When I had the misfortune to offend Prince Potemkin by the 
freedom of my letter of the 14th October, he sent several cou- 
riers, which carried entreaties and brought back refusals, beg- 
ging that Admiral Mordwinoflf would take command of the 
squadron, which the latter only at last accepted on condition of 
receiving carte blanche, and insisting that the prince should not 
interfere in any arrangements he thought fit to make. I have 
mentioned that the Dnieper was frozen over the day after my 
arrival at Cherson. In consequence, the squadron and flotilla 
were placed in danger, from not having been properly secured, 
for the season, after the departure of the capitan pacha. I 
understood that some of the vessels were lost in the Liman, and 
that the Wolodimer, to save herself, was obliged to risk the pas- 
sage to Sevastopole without a good part of her ballast. Briefly, 
in a few days after my departure from Cherson, Admiral Mord- 
winoff'was disgraced and sent from the service, whilst Admiral 
Woynowitch, who had married the daughter of Alexiano, was 
placed at the head of the admiralty, with the chief command of 
the fleet, and the entire confidence of Prince Potemkin. 

" It is said, that Russia has no longer need of foreign naval 
officers. So be it. No one is more desirous than myself that 
this may be so, for I cannot be jealous of any of them, and I 
must ever desire the prosperity of a country I have served. I 
may, however, be allowed to observe, that this opinion is not 
very old. If it had been believed before the last campaign, why 



PAUL JONES. 465 

were my services so anxiously sought after ? It assuredly could 
not have been in compliment to me, nor in order afterwards to 
make use of me in promoting certain political designs. I have 
frequently heard, that, since the war with Sweden, measures 
have been taken to induce Rear Admiral Kinsbergen to quit 
Holland, and re-enter the service of Russia. His countrymen 
allege that he had been offered the rank of vice admiral, the 
order of Alexander Nevsky, and a fixed revenue of 20,000 
roubles a year ; and that he refused all these advantages, as he 
had lately married a wife with a fortune which enabled him to 
live in independence in his own country. 

"It is known that the king of Sweden made advantageous 
offers to Admiral Curtis of the English navy, to induce him to 
take command of the fleet against Russia; and that this officer 
declined them, not wishing to hazard his professional reputation 
in command of a fleet which was not in so good a condition as 
that of England. 

" The empress will do me the justice to remember, that when 
I had the honour of accepting her service, I did not say one 
word regarding my personal interests. I have a soul too noble 
for that ; and if my heart had not been enlisted for her majesty, 
I would never have drawn my sword in her cause. I have now 
nothing for it but, like Admiral Kinsbergen, to marry a rich wife ; 
but I have sufficient to sup})ort me wherever I choose, and I 
know enough of the world to be a philosopher. 

"When I arrived at the Black Sea, if reasons much stronger 
than those which withheld Admiral Curtis had not influenced 
my mind and heart, which were devoted to the empress, I would 
never have hoisted my flag on board the Wolodimer. I would 
have refused tlje poor command offered me, and which was in 
no respect worthy of me. I have never puffed my own actions, 
nor given any piece to the press containing a eulogy on myself. 

" I respect the names of Kinsbergen and Curtis ; but the 
first duty of a gentleman is to respect his own character ; and 
I believe, without vanity, that the name of Paul Jones is of as 
much value as theirs. It is thirty years since I first served ; 

58 



466 PAUL JONES. 

ana I have had for friends and instructers a d'Orvilliers and a 
Pavilion. Unfortunately Prince Poteinkin never gave himself 
the trouble to know me. 

" I had the happiness to be loved by my officers and men, be- 
cause I treated them justly, and set them a good example before 
the enemy. After I ceased to command, though the campaign 
only lasted a few days, the seamen soon found the difference. 
They said they had lost their father : they were served with 
mouldy bread, and afterwards with spoiled meal. I have men- 
tioned, that Prince Potemkin had promised, in presence of Ad- 
miral Mordwinoff, to advance the officers under my command, 
and to restore to them the seniority they had lost by the promo- 
tion of the officers of the flotilla ; but I have learnt with much 
pain that he has not kept his word, and that in consequence ray 
officers, to the number of fifty, have demanded their dismission. 
Not one of them offered to resign while! held comman-iJ. Ad- 
miral Woynowitch having represented to Prince Potemkin that 
without these officers the fleet was useless, he was compelled to ad- 
vance them all. I have been told that they were not yet satisfied, 
as they were not restored to their seniority, and that they pro])o- 
sed to quit the service at the end of the year. 1 hope justice will 
be done them, for they are brave men. For myself I have been 
marked among all the officers that served in the Liman, being 
the only one who obtained no promotion, though I commanded 
and was alone responsible ! I may be told that I ought to be satis- 
fied with having received the rank of rear admiral on entering 
the service. I reply, that I could not have been offered an in- 
ferior grade. One officer may deserve as much in a day as 
another in a lifetime, and every officer ought to be advanced 
according to his merit. I was not favoured in rank on entering 
the Russian service. I had a full right to claim that which I 
accepted. A man, only twenty-four years of age, has since 
been received into the service with the rank of major general. 
I wish to say nothing against this officer ; it is not always years 
that give skill, much less genius, but he must do a great deal 
before he has my experience. 



PAUL JONES. 467 

" It is painful, for the honour of human nature, to reflect on 
how many malevolent and deceitful persons surround the great, 
and particularly crowned heads. I speak from my own unhap- 
py experience. Some persons had the malice to make Prince 
Potemkin believe that I made unhandsome strictures on his 
military conduct, and ridiculed his manner of conducting the 
siege of Oczakow. I have heard much idle talk on this sub- 
ject, and I am aware that it excited considerable discontent in 
the army. I was told, during my illness at Cherson, that a 
thousand of his officers had demanded their dismission ; but I 
defy any one to say to my face that I ever allowed myself to 
criticise his operations. I have been strongly attached to him, 
of which I think I gave proofs during my command, and even 
after he unjustly superseded me. Witness my letter of the 27th 
October, at a time when I certainly had reason to complain of 
his conduct towards me. 

" I have been more deeply hurt by those secret machinations 
against me, as regards the empress. My enemies have had the 
wickedness to make her believe that I was a cruel and brutav 
man ; and that I had, during the American war, eveii killed my 
own nepheiv ! 

" It is well known, that, from motives of revenge, the English 
have invented and propagated a thousand fictions and atrocities 
to endeavour to blacken the character of the celebrated men 
who effected the American revolution : a Washington and a 
Franklin, two of the most illustrious and virtuous men that have 
ever adorned humanity, have not been spared by these calum- 
niators. Are they now the less respected on this account by 
their fellow-citizens ? On the contrary, they are universally re- 
vered, even in Europe, as the fathers of their country, and as 
examples of all that is great and noble in the human character. 

" In civil war, it is not wonderful that op|)osite factions should 
mutually endeavour to make it believed that each is in the right ; 
and it is obvious that the parly most in the wrong will always 
be the most calumnious. If there had really been any thing 
against my character, the English would not have failed to fur- 



468 PAUL JONES. 

nish convincing proofs of it ; for, with very slender means, I had 
been able to give more alarm to their three kingdoms during 
the war than any other individual had done. 

" I have heard, that, at the period of my entering the Rus- 
sian service, the English in St. Petersburgh cried out against 
me, and asserted that I had been a contraband trader. All the 
world knows that men of this description are actuated entirely 
by avarice ; and every one to whom I have the honour to be 
known is aware that I am one of the least selfish of mankind. 
This is known to the whole American people. I have given 
proofs of it not easily shown, of which I possess very flattering 
testimonies. In a letter written on the 29th November, 1782, to 
Congress, by Mr. Morris, then minister of the marine and finance 
departments, after having made ray eulogium with the warmth 
of a true patriot, who thoroughly knew me, he says, that ' I had 
certainly merited the favour of Congress by services and sacri- 
fices the most signal.' Men do not change their characters in 
these respects. 

" If my heart has bled for the Americans, above all, for those 
shut up as victims in English prisons by an act of Parliament as 
sanguinary as unjust ; if I have exposed my health and life to 
the greatest dangers ; if I have sacrificed my personal tranquilli- 
ty and my domestic happiness, with a portion of my fortune and 
ray blood, to set at liberty these virtuous and innocent men, have 
I not given proofs sufficiently striking that I have a heart the 
most sensitive, a soul the most elevated ? I have done more than 
all this. So far from being harsh and cruel, nature has given 
me the mildest disposition. I was formed for love and friend- 
ship, and not to be a seamen or a soldier; as it is, I have sacri- 
ficed my natural inclination. 

" As an officer, I loved good disci[)line, which I consider indis- 
pensable to the success of operations, particularly at sea, where 
men are so much crowded and brought into such close contact. 
In the English navy it is known that captains of ships are often 
tyrants, who order the lash for the poor seamen very frequently, 
and sometimes, for nothing. In the American navy we have 



PAUL JONES. • 469 

almost the same regulations ; but I looked on my crew as my 
children, and I have always found means to manage them with- 
out flogging. 

" I never had a nephew, nor any other relation, under my 
command. Happily these facts are known in America, and 
they prove how cruel and harsh I am. I have one dear nephew,* 
who is still too young for service, but who now pursues his 
studies. Since I came to Russia I have intended him for the 
imperial marine. Instead of imbruing my hands in his blood, 
he will be cherished as my son. 

" In short, my conduct has obtained for me the returns most 
grateful to my heart. I have had the happiness to give univer- 
sal satisfaction to two great and enlightened nations which I 
have served. Of this I have received singular proofs. I am 
the only man in the world that possesses a sword given by the 
king of France. It is to me a -glorious distinction to wear it ; 
and, above all, to have received it as 'a proof of the particular 
esteem' of a monarch so august, a monarch who has become the 
protector of the rights of the human race, and who adds to this 
glorious title that of a citizen ! I have indelible proofs of the high 
considerations of the United States ; but what completes my 
happiness is the esteem and friendship of the most virtuous of 
men, whose fame will be immortal ; and that a Washington, a 
Franklin, a D'Estaing, a La Fayette, think the bust of Paul 
Jones worthy of being placed side by side with their own. It is 
then certain that this is not the bust of one, &.c.t 

" Since I am found too frank and too sincere to make my 
way at the court of Russia without creating powerful enemies, 
I have philosophy enough to withdraw into the peaceful bosom 
of friendship ; but, as I love virtue better than reward, and as 
my greatest ambition is to preserve, even in the shades of re- 
treat, the precious favour of the empress, I may tell her majesty, 



♦ The late Mr. William Taylor, merchant of the city of New York, son of the rear 
admiral's eldest sister, the late Mrs. Taylor of Dumfries, 
t He alludes to some calumnies, as foolish as base, not worthy of notice. 



470 PAUL JONES. 

that even in the midst of my persecutions, my mind was occu- 
pied by plans for the essential advancement of her service, of 
which I gave some idea to her minister in June last, (1789.) I 
have not entered into any detail, for there are politicians who 
before now have robbed me of my military plans. I have other 
projects in view from which the flag of Russia might derive new 
lustre, and which would cost but little to her majesty at the out- 
set, and perhaps nothing in the end, if I had the direction ; for 
I would be able to make war support war. We have already done 
it in America, and our marine has cost the United States nothing. 
At all events, I have the satisfaction of having done my duty in 
Russia, and that without any views of self-interest.* It is af- 
firmed, that, in general, strangers who come to Russia are ad- 
venturers in search of fortune, not having the means of living in 
their own country. I cannot say as to this ; but I at least hope 
that the empress will not class jne with those. 

"Briefly, I am satisfied with myself; and I have the happi- 
ness to know, that, though my enemies may u^t be converted 
into friends, my name will nevertheless be always respected by 
worthy men who know me ; and it is to me a satisfaction and a 
signal triumph at the moment of my leaving Russia, that the 
public, and even the English in St. Petersburgh, with whom I 
had no connexion, have now changed their sentiments in regard 
to me, give me their esteem, and regret my departure. 

" St, Petersburgh, July 29, 1789." 

CONCLUSION. 

" The art of war deserves the exclusive attention of those 
who are to be engaged in it ; and military science is only acqui- 
red by dint of study, of reflections, and of combinations. This 



* The last of the Piices Justificatives is a certificate from his secretary, Dmitreffsky, 
that the rear admiral had never received the appointments belonging to his grade, nor 
money for the expenses of his family, suite, servants, table, &c. nor for those attending 
his journey, after his recall from the Liman. 



PAUL JONES. 471 

Study, commenced at an early season, constantly followed up 
during life, and aided by continued experience, will hardly be- 
come familiar in all its parts to him who pursues it. Some 
occasion will infallibly happen, when pungent regrets for having 
neglected to obtain instruction, will be felt in all their force, by 
him, who, being charged with an important operation, is obliged 
to confess to himself his own incapacity to execute it. The time 
has gone by for beginning to attend to such study, when he has 
unfortunately been promoted to a command. Birth, patronage, 
solicitation, intrigue, sometimes win employment and rank ; but 
they do not secure success and credit. 

*' As the profession of arms is so honourable, and those who 
hold commands acquire a reputation at once so brilliant and so 
solid when they discharge their duties worthily ; and as, on the 
other hand, nothing is so disgraceful as a repulse received in 
war, through our own fault ; with what ardour should not of- 
ficers who have any passion for true glory, seek to provide them- 
selves abundantly with all the variety of knowledge, which may, 
some day, put them in the way of becoming distinguished ? 

" Courage alone, will not lead to renown, as many fondly 
believe. The road would be too easy. The fate of courage, 
devoid of the lights which a knowledge of the principles of the 
art communicates, is, to be ignorant of danger, to confront it, 
and to perish to no purpose ; often even without the satisfac- 
tion, in perishing, of knowing that the manner of its fall was 
intrepid. 

" It would appear that the study of an art, of which all the 
details are so interesting, the knowledge of which is connected 
with an infinite number of facts naturally exciting quick curiosity, 
the principles of which are scattered through the histories of all 
nations, must have inspiring attractions for those who de- 
sire to rise in their profession as high as they are permitted to 
hope for, and a taste for it, which cannot but redound to their 
advantage, by conducting them, through the true path, to the 
promotion they covet. Such promotion cannot be flattering to 
men of sense, unless they have the satisfaction of knowing that 



472 PAUL JONES. 

they deserved it ; and that consciousness is, of itself, sufficient 
to console those, whose success calumniators have made it their 
business to prevent." 



Thus ends the rear admiral's own account of what befel him 
in the course of his engagement in the Russian service. His- 
torical illustrations or speculative comments are not demanded 
in this volume. The reader will most readily find an off-hand 
and probably graphic sketch of the prince of Nassau, in the Me- 
moirs and Recollections of Count Segur. It tallies well with 
the idea of his character thrown out by Mr. Littlepage, in his 
letters, which have been cited. Jones accuses him of a want of 
courage. Personal timidity seems to have been implied in the 
charge ; but this was not his weakness. A soldier of fortune, 
he was encumbered with the pride belonging to birth and title ; 
and while he sought for the command of fleets, he wanted science 
and moral energy. It may not be a hyperbole, when Jones 
says, that though he had sailed round the world, he did not un- 
derstand the points of the compass. He is stated to have 
solicited and obtained his recall from his command in the 
Liman, previously to the dismissal of Jones, in consequence of 
taunts thrown out by Potemkin. 

Potemkin's character belongs to history. Vai'ious as the 
portraits are which have been drawn of it, the reader of Jones' 
own narrative will find in it sufficient cause of provocation, to 
account for the conduct of that imperious and spoiled com 
mander. He was not accustomed to receiving arguments 
instead of obedience ; and would rather have lost an important 
advantage to the empire than tolerated contradiction of his own 
pleasure. It is a question whether what seemed noble in his 
character belonged to its elements, or was put on with his great- 
ness, as an extraneous luxury. He closed his life like a 
changeling, and a drivelling idiot. 



In the notes subjoined to the campaign of the Liman, the 
papers annexed by the admiral have alone been cited. It is 



PAUL JONES. 473 

necessary to refer back, in point of time, to some portions of his 
correspondence during this period, and to explain other parts of 
his narrative more at large. 

There are a few letters from the rear admiral to Potemkin, 
not inserted among the Pieces Justificatives, as arranged by him- 
self, and which he did not therefore attach consequence to, as 
vouchers for the accuracy of his statements. Their substance 
being stated in the Journal, we shall not introduce them. When 
Mr. Littlepage left the Liman, the rear admiral despatched 
letters by him to Mr. Jefferson. He was uncertain, as it ap- 
pears from them, whether those last addressed by him to the 
sq,rae gentleman, from Copenhagen, had been received. The 
anxiety he expressed about some of the features of the American 
Constitution, shows that his thoughts turned to the land of his 
adoption, and the country which was in fact his own. In one 
of these letters the following passage occurs. " I pray you to 

inform me, if you possibly can, what has become of Mrs. T . 

I am astonished to have heard nothing from her since I left 
Paris. I had written to her frequently, before I left Copen^ 
hagen. If you cannot hear of, and see her, you will oblige me 
much by writing a note to Monsieur Dubois, Commissaire du 
Regiment des Guardes Francais, vis a vis la Rue de Vivienne, 
Rue neuve des petits Champs, desiring to speak with him. He 
will wait on you immediately. You must know, that besides my 
own purse, which was very considerable, I was good natured, 
or, if you please, foolish enough to borrow for her, four thousand 
four hundred livres. Now Mr. Dubois knows that transaction, 
and as she received the money entire from me for the reim- 
bursement, I wish to know if she has acquitted the debt ? When 
that affair is cleared up, I shall be better able to judge of the 
rest." 

This extract is introduced for a twofold reason. In the first 
place, Jones would not have written to 3Ir. Jefferson in relation 
to his transactions with a lady of loose reputation. In the 
second, it has been previously stated, that no traces of his cor- 
respondence with Madame T were found after his last 

59 



474 PAUL JONES. 

letter from America. This lady, as the editor is informed, is 
not to be confounded with Madame Tellison, spoken of in some 
of the biographies of Jones. 

In the same letters, he requested that his bust might be for- 
warded to several persons in America, to whom he had pro- 
mised it should be transmitted. This bust, according to Baron 
Grimm, was executed at the request of the Lodge of Nine Sis- 
ters, of which Jones was a member. The gentlemen to whom 
he desired that casts might be forwarded, were, " General St. 
Clair, and Mr. Ross, of Philadelphia : Mr. John Jay, General 
Irvine, Mr. Secretary Thompson, and Colonel Wadsworth, of 
New York ; Mr. J. Madison, and Colonel Carrington, of 
Virginia." 

He also requested that four gold medals might be struck for 
him, from the die ordered by Congress to be executed, in honour 
of his services. " I must," he said, " present one to the United 
States, another to the king of France, and I cannot do less than 
ofter one to the empress. As you will keep the dies for me, it 
is my intention to have some more gold medals struck ; there- 
fore I beg you, in the mean time, not to permit the striking of a 
single silver or copper medal." 

In the same letters, dated on the 9th of September, (N. S.) 
he speaks doubtingly of the manner in which his situation in the 
Russian service might terminate. Clinging to the glory already 
gained, and the nobler triumphs already won, he seems to have 
been more interested about the reception of one of his journals 
by the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Letters, and the 
designs of medals executed in wax commemorating his naval 
victories, than in the progress of the empress's arms. On 
the latter subject, however, it was not proper for him to speak 
in these communications. 

Jones arrived at St. Petersburgh on the 28th December, 
after being detained at St. Elizabeth by the indisposition which 
he mentions, and on the day following addressed the Compte de 
MorminofF, desiring as early an opportunity as possible of pre- 
senting Potemkin's letter, of which he was the bearer, to the 



PAUL JONES. 475 

empress. This communication is noticed, as it is preserved 
among his papers. It is written strictly selon les regies, and 
speaks of his eternal gratitude to her majesty, &.c. In January 
following, while writing, with probably no hope, on the promise 
of the Count Besborodko, that he should have a command of 
more importance than that of the fleet of the Black Sea, we find 
him congratulating Mr. Jefferson on the adoption of the Ame- 
rican Constitution, and anticipating from it the establishment 
of a marine force. The castigation of the Algerines was the 
foremost subject which occupied his mind. " If," he said, 
" there is still a disposition to send a force against the Algerines, 
would it not be a good thing to conclude a treaty with this 
country, and make the war a common cause in the Mediterra- 
nean. The Turks and Algerines are together, and acted in 
conjunction against us before OczacofF. A treaty might now 
be concluded, permitting her imperial majesty to enlist seamen 
in America, and assuring to America after the peace, a free 
navigation to and from the Black Sea. If you approve of this 
idea in general, various other things will necessarily be engrafted 
in the treaty, and I flatter myself I may obtain the command of 
the force destined to act in conjunction with that of the United 
States." 

Two letters from him to Mr. .Jefferson, on this theme, are 
preserved, and, as has been seen by his journal, he presented at 
the time to the Vice Chancellor Ostermann a project of a com- 
mercial treaty, and had a conversation with Potemkin on the 
subject. 

It was at this time that an infamous conspiracy to ruin his cha- 
racter was got up, and might have been successful, had not the 
friends of Jones assisted him with earnestness, in exposing the 
falsehood of the charges attempted to be fastened on him. The 
nature of these charges, with the history of the persecution raised 
upon them, will be found in the following letter to Potemkin. Who 
its authors were can never be known. Both Count Segur and 
Jones unhesitatingly ascribe it to English officers in the Russian 
navy, and the English merchants. It was the most natural 



476 PAUL JONES. 

supposition, in the absence of all positive proof; but it was a 
supposition only. 

Rear Admiral Paul Jones to Prince Potemkin. 

" St. Petersburgh, 13th April, 1789. 

' My Lord — Having had the advantage to serve under 
your orders, and in your sight, I remember, with particular 
satisfaction, the kind promises and testimonies of your friend- 
ship with which you have honoured me. As I have served all 
my life for honour, I had no other motive for accepting the flat- 
tering invitation of her imperial majesty, than a laudable 
ambition to distinguish myself in the service of a sovereign so 
magnanimous and illustrious ; for I never yet have bent the 
knee to self-interest, nor drawn my sword for hire. A few days 
ago I thought myself one of the happiest men in the empire I 
Your highness had renewed to me your promise of friendship, 
and the empress had assigned me a command of a nature to 
occupy the most active and enterprising genius. 

" A bad woman has accused me of violating her daughter ! 
If she had told the truth, I should have candour enough to own 
it, and would trust my honour, which is a thousand times dearer 
to me than my life, to the mercy of the empress. I declare, 
with an assurance becoming a military character, that I am in- 
nocent. Till that unhappy moment, I have enjoyed the public 
esteem, and the affection of all who knew me. Shall it be said 
that in Russia a wretched woman, who eloped from her husband 
and family in the country, stole away her daughter., lives here in 
a house of bad fame, and leads a debauched and adulterous life, 
has found credit enough on a simple complaint, unsupported hy 
any proof., to affect the honour of a general officer of reputation, 
who has merited and received the decorations of America, of 
France, and of this empire ^. 

" If I had been favoured with the least intimation of a 
complaint of that nature having found its way to the sove- 
reign, I know too well what belongs to delicacy to have pre- 



PAUL JONES. 4!}7 

sented myself in the presence of the empress before my 
justification. 

" My servant was kept prisoner by the officers of police for 
several hours, two days successively, and threatened with the 
knout. 

" After the examination of my people before the police, I sent 
for and employed Monsieur Crimpin as my advocate. As the 
mother had addressed herself to him before to plead her cause, 
she naturally spoke to him without reserve, and he learned from 
her a number of important facts, among others, that she was 
counselled and supported by a distinguished man of the court. 

" By the certificate of the father, attested by the pastor of the 
colony, the daughter is several years older than is expressed in 
the complaint. And the complaint contains various other points 
equally false and easy to be refuted. For instance, there is a 
conversation I am said to have held with the daughter in the 
Russian language, of which no person ever heard me pronounce 
two words together : it is unknown to me. 

" I thought that in every country a man accused had a right 
to employ advocates, and to avail himself of his friends for his 
justification. Judge, my prince, of my astonishment and dis 
tress of mind, when I yesterday was informed that the day 
before, the governor of the city had sent for my advocate, and 
forbidden him, at his peril, or any other person, to meddle with 
mi/ cause ! 

" I am innocent before God ! and my conscience knows no 
reproach. The complaint brought against me is an infamous 
lie, and there is no circumstance that gives it even an air of 
probability. 

" I address myself to you with confidence, my prince, and 
am assured that the friendship you have so kindly promised me 
will be immediately exerted in my favour; and that you will not 
suffer the illustrious sovereign of this great empire to be misled 
by the false insinuations and secret cabals of my hidden enemies. 
Your mind will find more true pleasure in pleading the cause 
of an innocent man whom you honour with your friendship. 



478 PAUL JONES. 

than can result from other victories equally glorious with that 
of Oczakow, which will always rank among the most brilliant 
of military achievements. If your highness will condescend to 
question Monsieur Crimpin, (for he dare not now even speak to 
me,) he can tell you many circumstances which will elucidate my 
innocence. I am, with profound respect, my lord, your high- 
ness's devoted and most obedient servant," &:c. <S6c. 

The following were the exculpatory documents which Jones 
was enabled to procure in relation to this matter. 

" I certify, that my wife, Fredrica Sophia Koltzwarthen, has 
left me without any reason ; that she has been living in the city 
with a young man ; and that she has clandestinely, and against 
my will, taken away my daughter Catharine Charlotte, who 
is now living with her. 

" Stephen Koltzwarthen. 

" Saratowka, 7th April, 1789." 

*' I certify, that this is the free and voluntary declaration of 
Stephen Koltzwarthen, and that it is he who has signed it. 

" G. Bra UN, Pastor. 

Saratowka, 7th of April, 1789." 

" I certify that my daughter is twelve years of age. 

" Stephen Koltzwarthen. 

Saratowka, 7th April, 1789." 

" I certify, that Stephen Koltzwarthen has signed what is 
above written. 

" G. Braun, Pastor." 

" Declaration of the Pastor Lamp of St. Peter shurgh. 

" 1 certify, that the name of Koltzwarthen does not at present 
appear in the roll of those in the communion of the church, and 



PAUL JONES. 479 

that, previous to the day when she came to my house about the 
affair of her daughter, I had never seen her. 

" J. Lamp, Pastor" 

Count de Segur, who was certainly a warm and disinterested 
friend of Jones, has given a narrative of this affair, overwrought 
in most particulars, egotistical in many, and in some not very ma- 
terial points incorrect, as appears from the statements of Jones 
himself. Those who have perused the count's reminiscences 
will be at no loss to account for the colouring given to this par- 
ticular transaction, as it is the same throv^n over many others, 
by that worthy and self-complacent, and not uninteresting wri- 
ter. He says: 

" The American rear admiral was favourably welcomed at 
court ; often invited to dinner by the empress, and received with 
distinction into the best society in the city ; on a sudden, Catha- 
rine commanded him to appear no more in her presence. 

" He was informed that he was accused of an infamous crime ; 
of assaulting a young girl of fourteen, of grossly violating her ; 
and that probably, after some preliminary information, he would 
be tried by the courts of admiralty, in which there were many 
English officers, who were strongly prejudiced against him. 

" As soon as this order was known, every one abandoned 
the unhappy American ; no one spoke to him, people avoided 
saluting him, and every door was shut against him. All those 
by whom but yesterday he had been eagerly welcomed, now 
fled from him as if he had been infected with a plague ; besides, 
no advocate would take charge of his cause, and no public man 
would consent to listen to him ; at last even his servants would 
not continue in his service; and Paul Jones, whose exploits 
every one had so recently been ready to proclaim, and whose 
friendship had been sought after, found himself alone in the 
midst of an immense population: Petersburgh, a great capital, 
became to him a desert. 

" I went to see him ; he was moved even to tears by my visit. 
' I was unwilling,' he said to me, shaking me by the hand, ' to 



480 PAUL JONES. 

knock at your door, and to expose myself to a fresh affront, 
which would have been more cutting than all the rest. I have 
braved death a thousand times, now I wish for it.' His appear- 
ance, his arms being laid upon the table, made me suspect some 
desperate intention. 

" ' Resume,' I said to him, ' your composure and your courage. 
Do you not know that human life, like the sea, has its storms, 
and that fortune is even more capricious than the winds ? If, as 
I hope, you are innocent, brave this sudden tempest ; if, unhap- 
pily, you are guilty, confess it to me with unreserved frankness, 
and I will do every thing I can to snatch you, by a sudden flight, 
from the danger which threatens you.' 

" ' I swear to you upon my honour,' said he, ' that I am in- 
nocent, and a victim of the most infamous calumny. This is 
the truth. Some days since a young girl came to me in the 
morning, to ask me if I could give her some linen or lace to 
mend. She then indulged in some rather earnest and indecent 
allurements. Astonished at so much boldness in one of such 
few years, I felt compassion for her ; I advised her not to enter 
upon so vile a career, gave her some money, and dismissed her ; 
but she was determined to remain. 

" ' Impatient at this resistance, I took her by the hand and 
led her to the door ; but, at the instant when the door was 
opened, the little profligate tore her sleeves and her neck-ker- 
chief, raised great cries, complained that I had assaulted her, 
and threw herself into the arms of an old woman, whom she 
called her mother, and who, certainly, was not brought there 
by chance. The mother and the daughter raised the house 
with their cries, went out, and denounced me ; and now you 
know all.' 

" 'Very well,' said I, 'but cannot you learn the names of 
those adventurers ?' ' The porter knows them,' he replied. ' Here 
are their names written down, but I do not know where they live. 
I was desirous of immediately presenting a memorial about 
this ridiculous affair, first to the minister, and then to the em- 
press ; but I have been interdicted from access to both of them.' 



'Give me the paper,' I said; 'resume your accustomed firm- 
ness; be comforted ; let me undertake it; in a short time we 
shall meet again.' 

"As soon as I had returned home, I directed some sharp and 
intelligent agents, who were devoted to me, to get information 
respecting these suspected females, and to find out what was 
their mode of life. I was not long in learning that the old wo- 
man was in the habit of carrying on a vile traffic in young girls, 
whom she passed off as her daughters. 

" When I was furnished with all the documents and attesta- 
tions for which I had occasion, I hastened to show them to 
Paul Jones. ' You have nothing more to fear,' said I ; ' the 
wretches are unmasked. It is only necessary to open the eyes 
of the empress, and let her see how unworthily she has been 
deceived ; but this is not so very easy : truth encounters a mul- 
titude of people at the doors of a palace, who are very clever 
in arresting its progress ; and sealed letters are, of all others, 
those which are intercepted with the greatest art and care. 
Nevertheless, I know that the empress, who is not ignorant of 
this, has directed, under very heavy penalties, that no one shall 
detain on the way any letters which are addressed to her per- 
sonally, and which may be sent to her by post ; therefore, here 
is a very long letter which I have written to her in your name ; 
nothing of the detail is omitted, although it contains some rough 
expressions. I am sorry for the empress; but since she heard 
and gave credit to a calumny, it is but right that she should read 
the justification with patience. Copy this letter, sign it, and I 
will take charge of it ; I will send some one to put it in the 
post at the nearest town. Take courage ; believe me, your 
triumph is not doubtful.' 

" In fact, the letter was sent and put in the post ; the em- 
press received it; and, after having read this memorial, which 
was fully explanatory, and accompanied by undeniable attesta- 
tions, she inveighed bitterly against the informers, revoked her 
rigorous orders, recalled Paul Jones to court, and received him 
with her usual kindness. 

60 



482 PAUL JONES. 

" That brave seaman enjoyed with a becoming pride a repa- 
ration which was due to him ; but he trusted very httle to the 
compHments that were unblushingly heaped upon him by the 
many persons who had fled from him in his disgrace ; and, 
shortly afterwards, disgusted with a country where the fortune 
of a man may be exposed to such humihations, under the pre- 
tence of ill health, he asked leave of the empress to retire, which 
she granted him, as well as an honourable order and a suitable 
pension. 

" He took leave, after having expressed to me his gratitude 
for the service which I had rendered him ; and his respect for 
the sovereign, who, although she might be led into an error, 
knew at least how to make an honourable reparation for a fault 
and an act of injustice." 

Whether the letter which Jones really did address to the em- 
press was framed from the draft presented to him by the count, 
or was purely original, cannot be known. It certainly was not 
a copy of that draft, and bears every mark of being his own com- 
position, in matter as well as manner. It was as follows. (The 
original is in French.) 

" St. PeUrsbiirgh, May 17, 1789. 
*' Madam — I have never served but for honour, I have never 
sought but glory, and I believed I was in the way of obtaining 
both, when I accepted the offers made me on the part of your 
majesty, of entering into your service. I was in America when 
M. de Simolin, through Mr. Jefferson, minister of the United 
States at Paris, caused a proposition to be made* to me, in the 



* " M'afait proposer," in the original. The phrase admits very easily of the in- 
ference, that the proposition was not communicated to Jones, until he arrived at Paris, 
in relation to which point, some observations have been made in previous pages. On 
receiving this communication from Mr. Jefferson, and subsequently conferring with 
Messrs. Littlepage and Simolin, he would have proceeded to St. Petersburgh imme- 
diately to be informed of the tenor of the offer, if he had not been intrusted with the 
application to the court of Denmark. This explanation is given, because needless 
criticisms have appeared in print, accusing him of a sort of flirtation with proposals, 
which he had made up his mind from the beginning to accept. 



PAUL JONES. 483 

name of your majesty, to take command in chief of the maritime 
forces in the Black Sea, which were intended to act against the 
Turks. I sacrificed my dearest interests to accept an invitation 
so flattering, and I would have reached you instantly if the 
United States had not intrusted me with a special commission 
to Denmark. Of this I acquitted myself faithfully and promptly. 
I passed into Sweden, with a view of reaching Abo ; but the 
entrance of that port, as well as the whole coast of Finland, was 
locked up by the ice. Under these circumstances, I hearkened 
only to my zeal, threw myself into a small and frail shallop, 
undecked, with some inexperienced peasants, whom my en- 
treaties, menaces, and money, associated in my destiny, in a 
manner unexampled; and after a thousand dangers I arrived at 
Revel. The distinguished reception which your majesty deigned 
to grant me, the kindness with which you loaded me, indemni- 
fied me for the dangers to which I had exposed myself for your 
service, and inspired me with the most ardent desire to encoun- 
ter more. But knowing mankind, and aware that the fate of 
those persons whom their superiors distinguish and protect is to 
be ever the objects of jealousy and envy to the worthless, I be- 
sought your majesty never to condemn me unheard. You con- 
descended to give me that promise, and I set out with a mind as 
tranquil as my heart was satisfied. 

" In this ports of the Black Sea I found things in the most 
critical condition. The most imminent danger threatened us, 
and our means were feeble. Nevertheless, supported by the 
love which all your subjects bear to your majesty, by their 
courage, by the ability and foresight of the chief who led us, and 
by the Providence which has always favoured the arms of your 
majesty, we beat your enemies, and your flag was covered with 
fresh laurels. 

" I would not notice, madam, what I then achieved, if Prince 
Potemkin had not taken distinguished notice of my services, and 
given me reiterated thanks, both in speech and writing ; and if 
your majesty, informed by the prince marshal of my conduct in 
the first affair which took place on the Liman, had not invested 



484 PAUL JONES. 

me with the honourable badge of the order of St. Anne. Since 
that period, though I have been circumscribed by the limits of 
my instructions, I have committed no professional error ; I have 
often exposed myself to personal danger, and I have even 
stooped to sacrifice my personal feelings and interests to my 
devotion for the good of the service. 

" At the close of the campaign I received orders to return to 
court, as your majesty intended to employ me in the North Seas, 
and I brought with me a letter from Prince Potemkin for your 
majesty, in which he mentioned my zeal and the usefulness of 
my services. I had the honour to present it, and M. le Comte 
de Besborodko acquainted me that a command of greater im- 
portance than that of the Black Sea, and fitted for the display 
of the most active and intelligent talent, was intended for me. 
Such was my situation, when, upon the mere accusation of a 
crime, the very idea of which wounds my delicacy, I found my- 
self driven from court, deprived of the good opinion of your 
majesty, and forced to employ the time which I wish to devote 
to the defence of your empire in cleansing from myself the stains 
with which calumny had covered me. 

" Condescend to believe, madam, that if I had received the 
slightest hint that a complaint of such a nature had been made 
against me, and still more, that it had come to your majesty's 
knowledge, I know too well what is owing to delicacy to have 
ventured to appear before you till I was completely exculpated. 

"Understanding neither the laws, the language, nor the forms 
of justice of this country, I needed an advocate, and obtained 
one ; but, whether from terror or intimidation, he stopped short 
all at once, and durst not undertake my defence, though con- 
vinced of the justice of my cause. But truth may always venture 
to show itself alone and unsupjwrted at the foot of the throne of 
your majesty. I have not hesitated to labour unaided for my 
own vindication ; T have collected proofs ; and if such details 
might appear under the eyes of your majesty, I would present 
them : but if your majesty will deign to order some person to 
examine them, it will be seen by the report which will be made, 



PAUL JONES. 485 

that my crime is a fiction, invented by the cupidity of a wretched 
woman, whose avarice has been countenanced, perhaps incited, 
by the malice of my numerous enemies. Her husband has 
himself certified and attested to her infamous conduct. His 
signature is in my hands, and the pastor, Braun, of the district, 
has assured me, that if the college of justice will give him an 
order to this eflfect, he will obtain an attestation from the coun- 
try people that the mother of the girl referred to, is known 
among them as a wretch absolutely unworthy of belief. 

" Take a soldier's word, madam ; believe an officer whom 
two great nations esteem, and who has been honoured with flat- 
tering marks of their approbation, (of which your majesty will 
soon receive a direct proof from the United States,*) I am in- 
nocent ; and if I were guilty, I would not hesitate to make a 
candid avowal of my fault, and to commit my honour, which is 
a thousand times dearer to me than my life, to the hands of 
your majesty. 

" If you deign, madam, to give heed to this declaration, pro- 
ceeding from a heart the most frank and loyal, I venture from 
your justice to expect that my zeal will not remain longer 
in shameful and humiliating inaction. It has been useful to 
your majesty, and may again be so, especially in the Mediter- 
ranean, where, with insignificant means, I will undertake to 
execute most important operations, the plans for which I have 
meditated long and deeply. But if circumstances, of which I 
am ignorant, do not admit the possibility of my being employed 
during the campaign, I hope your majesty will give me permis- 
sion to return to France or America, granting, as the sole 
reward of the services I have had the happiness to render, the 
hope of renewing them at some future day. 

" Nothing has been or will be able to change or efface in my 
heart the deep feelings of devotedness with which your majesty 
has inspired me. 

" To you, madam, I am personally devoted. I would rather 

* Referring to a medal ordered to be struck by Congress. 



486 PAUL JONES. 

have my head struck off than see those ties broken asunder 
which bind me to your service. At the feet of your majesty I 
swear to be ever faithful to you, as well as to the empire, of 
which you form the happiness, the oi-nament, and the glory. 
" I am, with the most profound respect, madam," &c. 

Count Segur is wrong in stating that Jones received either 
an order or a pension. Neither baubles nor money were doled 
out to him, and all he did obtain was an honourable leave 
of absence, at his own cost. The malign influence exerted 
against him triumphed, from whatever source it may have pro- 
ceeded. Of what this source was, Jones afterwards received 
dark and unsatisfactory information, which will be mentioned 
presently. The order of St. Anne, the only one which he re- 
ceived from Russia, had been previously awarded to him, and 
was of an inferior grade, not conferred by the empress herself, 
directly. The empress may have expressed herself in the terms 
mentioned by Count Segur ; but as he dramatized his recollec- 
tions from memory, the chances are marvellously against her 
having done so ; nor does he state that he was present when she 
spoke on the subject, or had other authority than an " rni dit.''^ 
His diplomatic situation, however, gives such authority to his 
statements, that they are not to be contradicted without evidence. 

The ninety-third Piece Justificative is a certificate of Dmit- 
refFsky, who had served as secretary and interpreter of Jones, 
dated June 21st, in which he states, that " his excellency had 
received neither the appointments belonging to his rank, nor 
money for the expenses of his servants and necessary disburse- 
ments in his official capacity, nor any allowance for his table, 
during the campaign ; and that when he received orders to re- 
pair to court, previous to being employr^d in the Black Sea, nc 
allowance or payment was made to him, and he defrayed the 
expense from his own purse." The date of this certificate shows, 
that it was procured with a view of making some settlement at 
the time, with the Russian government. Jones has added him- 
self, that just as he was leaving Copenhagen, Baron Krudiner 



PAUL JONES. 487 

brought to him a thousand ducats. "As," he says, " I had 
resolved to visit St. Petersburgh, rather to prove to her imperial 
majesty the gratitude felt for the good opinion entertained for 
me, than with an actual view of entering into her service, my 
delicacy would not tolerate the idea of being paid for my tra- 
velling expenses. I refused the money several times ; but the 
baron being unwilling to take it back, I was compelled to take 
charge of it, being resolved to deliver it to the empress' minis- 
ter, in case of declining the service offered to me. I used my 
own money on the journey. Her majesty directed two thousand 
ducats to be given to me, for my equipment. But, as I had to 
buy every thing for my journey to the department of the Black 
Sea, and for my table, as commandant, when I arrived there, I 
had disbursed the whole amount of that sum before the end of 
the campaign ; and when I received her majesty's orders to 
return to St. Petersburgh, to be employed in the North Sea, I 
was obliged to dispose of the effects I had remaining for a tri- 
fling sum. I may boldly say, that I have done nothing from 
interested motives. It was clearly in my power to have made 
as advantageous a bargain as the other strangers, whose ser- 
vices Russia hq,s invoked ; but my delicacy did not allow it ; and 
I had too much confidence in the magnanimity and goodness of 
her imperial majesty to deem it necessary ; and without say- 
ing more of the services I was fortunate enough to render to 
her, and am still able and willing to render, I will simply add, 
that I would not re-attempt my passage from Gresselham to 
Revel, under like circumstances, for a thousand times the sum 
I received and spent in her service." 

He was received at court, in consequence of his own letter, or 
on the representations of his friends. His letters to Besborod- 
ko will show how far he obtained favour. Accustomed to the 
procrastinations of courts, as he had been, his was not the tem- 
per that could endure all the mortifications described by Spen- 
cer ; nor was the court of Russia one, in which the process of 
tantalizing courtiers out of favour was so dilatory ; vet much 



488 PAUL JONES. 

and many of them, the sensitive part of his nature made him 
undergo : 

" To lose good days that might be better spent, 
To waste long nights in pensive discontent; 
To speed to-day, to be put bacii to-morrow. 
To feed on hope, to pine with fear and sorrow ; 
To have thy prince's grace, yet want her peers' ; 

To fret thy soul with crosses and with cares, 
To eat thy heart with comfortless despairs." 

" 7'o his Excellency Count Besborodko from Rear Admiral 

Paul Jones. 

" St. Petersburgh, 24th June, 1789. (N. S.) 

" Sir — When I had the honour to see your excellency 
last week, you was pleased to promise, that in two days I 
would be made acquainted with the ulterior intention of her 
majesty, whether to give me a command, or a temporary leave 
of absence.* No doubt important affairs have occasioned this 
slight delay. You will, I hope, have the goodness to permit 
me to present myself at your hotel to-mdrrow afternoon ; for if 
it is thought fit to employ my services, there is no time to lose, 
seeing the advance of the season. 

" The detachment of vessels of which your excellency spoke 
to me, would certainly be most useful in the operations which I 
have projected ; but, at the same time, I regard the plan men- 
tioned in the private note which I have sent you, as very use- 
ful. I would then wish (as circumstances may allow of it,)t to 
combine these plans ; and then I think there would be reason 
to be satisfied with the result. 

" I have mentioned to your excellency that I am the only of- 
ficer, who made the campaign of the Liman without being pro- 



* Note by Jones. — Without seeing Count Besborodko at all, I had on the 7th July, 
(N. S.) an audience of leave-taking of the empress; and on kissing her hand, her ma- 
jesty was kind enough to wish' me un hon voyage. 

t The Count Besborodko told me so. 



PAUL JONES. 489 

moted,* but I beseech you to believe, that I have not accepted 
of service in Russia to occasion embarrassment ; and since the 
empress has given me her esteem and her confidence, I wish 
for nothing save new opportunities to prove my devotion by fresh 
services." 

I presume the date of the following letter to be according 
to the new style. In that case, but a decent time was allowed 
to grant the rear admiral leave of absence. 

" St. Petersburgh, 14th July, 1789. 

*' Sir — I presented myself at your hotel the day before 
yesterday, to take leave, and, at the same time, to entreat of you 
to expedite my commission, my passport, and the leave of ab- 
sence which her majesty has thought fit to grant me. Though 
I have perceived on several former occasions that you have 
shunned giving me any opportunity to speak with you, I made 
myself certain that this could not occur at a last interview ; and 
I confess I was very much surprised to see you go out by ano- 
ther door, and depart without a single expression of ordinary 
civility addressed to me at the moment of my departure, to con- 
sole me for all the bitter mortifications I have endured in this 
empire. Before coming to Russia, I had been connected with 
several governments, and no minister ever either refused me 
an audience, or failed to reply to my letters. 

" After the eagerness with which my services were sought, 
and the fair promises that were made me, I had good reason to 
believe that I would find in Russia every thing pleasant and 
agreeable. I was ponfirmed in this belief from the essential 
services which I had the good fortune to render the empire. I 
am aware that your excellency is sometimes teased by im- 
portunate persons, but as I am a man of delicacy in every thing, 
I deserve to be distinguished from the crowd. 



* Since my return to St. Petersburgh, as the Prince of AnhaU has informed me, all 
the frigates of the department of the Black Sea have been promoted to the rank of 
ships of the line. 

61 



490 PAUL JONES. 

" On the 6th of June, the last time you gave me an opportu- 
nity of speaking with you, I gave you a confidential note,* con- 
taining the details of a plan by which, without interfering with 
any other project, and with the utmost economy, great service 
might be done to Russia. You promised to submit it to the 
empress ; and you yourself proposed to place a detachment of 
vessels under my command, to serve during the existing cam- 
paign in the Black Sea, and afterwards in the Mediterranean. 
I could not have imagined that these plans were so carelessly to 
have been thrown aside; and, in place of discussing and arrang- 
ing them with you, I was very much astonished when his 
Excellency the Count dq Bruce announced to me that the em- 
press had granted me a leave of absence for two years. 

"On the 1st of February I gave in, by order of his excellency 
the Vice Chancellor, Count Ostermann, the plan of a treaty, 
political and commercial, between Russia and the United States. 
As the Vice Chancellor spoke to me of going to America about 
this purpose, and as I shall soon again be connected with my old 
friends who constitute the present government of the United 



* This note is translated as follows in the Edinburgh life : 

" June 6, 1789. 

" The great object of a Russian fleet in the Mediterranean is to endeavour to cut 
off the communication between Egypt and the coast of Syria with Constantinople, 
from whence they procure their corn, rice, coffee, «fec. This operation will oblige 
them to withdraw a very considerable part of their fleet from the Black Sea. To en- 
compass this end, I ask a carte blanche, and only, exclusive of small boats, five large 
vessels, like the East Indiamen which are purchased in London after they have made 
three voyages, and which carry from forty to fifty guns. They are strong vessels, and 
good sailers. They are sent from London to Naples under the English flag, under 
pretext of being engaged in mercantile enterprises. No person can have any thing to 
Bay against it. The crew of those vessels being arrived in Italy would engage in the 
service of Russia. For the rest we would easily find good fhilors at Malta and at Na- 
ples. I would employ two small French vessels between Malta and Naples, trading 
to Smyrna, to procure continual news from Constantinople, and of the force and posi- 
tion of the Turkish fleet. There are some very important blows to be made ; but in 
order to succeed, we must not speak of this matter beforehand. We are informed that 
the want of provisions at Constantinople has occasioned a rebellion, discouraged the 
people, and caused a great desertion of the troops. It is the policy of the vizier to ren- 
der himself popular by providing sufficiently for them." 



PAUL JONES. 491 

States, I would be extremely happy to learn, through your 
excellency, the intentions of her imperial majesty in this re- 
spect, and to be appointed to forward the alliance which I sug- 
gested, by which Russia must gain. 

" The United States having concluded a treaty of friendship 
and commerce with the Emperor of Morocco, are about to pro- 
pose to the different powers of Europe a war with the other 
Barbary states, and to form a confederation against these pi- 
rates, till they shall be annihilated as maritime powers. It is 
proposed, that even the event of a war between the contracting 
parties shall not disturb the confederation. It would be worthy 
of the august sovereign of this empire to place herself at the 
head of an alliance so honourable, and of which the conse- 
quences must be so useful to Russia. It would give me pecu- 
liar satisfaction if your excellency thought fit to appoint me to 
make known the intentions of the empress to the United States 
on these two points, and I trust I should be able to acquit my- 
self of so honourable a duty to your contentment. 

*' I have the honour to be, with sincere attachment and high 
consideration," <fec. &c. 

With this audience of leave, and this gracious compliment 
of being wished " a good journey" by the empress, Jones bade 
farewell to the Russian court. In a note to No. 91 of his Pieces 
Justificatives, which is a letter from M. de Simolin to Count 
Besborodko, dated in April, 1788, he makes some remarks 
which require notice. This letter was sent to him, accompa- 
nied with a letter in the empress' own hand. He says, " It was 
not until after I had entered into her service that I found out I 
should not be the only admiral in the department of the Black 
Sea. I had not before heard of the rear admirals Mordwinoff 
and Woimoritsh. I had been invited into the service to com- 
mand in chief the fleet on the Black Sea, which I believed to 
be very respectable ; but I began to entertain reasonable fears 
of being exposed to the assaults of envy, jealousy, and malice, 
when I was told that I should not be even senior admiral in that 



492 PAUL JONES. 

department. Her majesty having deigned to speak to me fre- 
quently of the fortunate lot which awaited me, more with the 
kindness of a mother than as a powerful sovereign, was pleased 
to write to me on the subject of M. Simolin's letter, ' I hope it 
will efface all doubts from your mind.' All my doubts had been 
previously effaced by the gracious words I had heard from her 
lips." It appears from this extract, that though he had reason 
to anticipate a collision with Nassau, in the joint command, he 
was totally uninformed of the other rivals in rank with whom 
he was to come in contact. Of this he had full right to com- 
plain. On the 28th July, I find drafts of two letters, in his own 
hand writing, one of which was addressed to the Count de Sal- 
tikoff, aid-de-camp general of her majesty, stating that he had 
been delayed until that day, by waiting for his passport, and 
requesting to know when he might have the honour of taking 
leave of their royal highnesses the grand duke, grand duchess, 
and all the little princes, &c. The other was addressed to the 
reverend father in God, Dr. John Sambosky, from which the fol- 
lowing is an extract : " I take the liberty to enclose the letter 
which his imperial highness the grand duke had the goodness 
to write me, when I was honoured with the order of St. Anne. 
As the day of the mpnth is omitted in that letter, you will oblige 
me much by getting it inserted ; and if the order was conferred 
on any other officer the same month, I could wish that my letter 
might be made the first in date. You would do me an addi- 
tional favour, if you could procure for me a copy of the institu- 
tion of the order of St. Anne. I could wish to have it in French 
or English, but this, I fear, would be difficult to be obtained." 
He mentioned to the prelate that he had written to Count Sal- 
tikoff, and requested that he would give directions to his servant, 
who did not know the count, how to find that nobleman. 

His passport, for himself and a single domestic (John Feyer- 
abend, a native of Dantzic,) setting forth his leave of absence 
for two years, is dated on the same 28th July, (O. S. undoubt- 
edly.) On the 15th August following, (O. S.) being still at St. 
Petersburgh, he wrote to M. Genet, then secretary of the lega- 



PAUL JONES. 4^ 

tion from the court of France, and who proved himself a staunch 
friend of the chevaUer, as follows : 

" When the Count de Bruce sent for me on the 27th June, (N. 
S.) he told me, on the part of the empress, that her imperial ma- 
jesty had granted me a leave for two years, with the appointments 
belonging to my military rank during my absence. The Count 
de Besborodko wrote me a note the 30th July, (N. S.) informing 
me that M. Strekalow had received her majesty's orders with 
respect to my appointments and arrearages. I have not been 
able to see M. de Strekalow, though I have called frequently at 
the cabinet. I have only received my appointments from the 
time of my entry into the service to the 1st of July, at the rate 
of 1800 roubles a year ; and I was told yesterday at the cabinet, 
that her majesty's ukase mentions nothing but the appointments 
then due. If I could believe that this was her majesty's inten- 
tion, I should remain silent ; for I certainly did not accept the 
service her majesty offered me on account of my appointments, 
or the usual emoluments of my grade. You will oblige me, 
and confer on me a new favour, by the inquiry you will be so 
kind as to make in this matter ; and you will be pleased to 
transmit the answer, to the cafe of my friend, Mr. Jefferson, at 
Paris." 

Count Segur gave further proofs of his friendship to a man 
out of credit at court, by the letters with which he furnished 
him, and by addressing the following communication and request 
to Count Montmorin. 

" St. Petersburg!!, 2Ist July, 1789. 

" The enemies of the Vice Admiral Paul Jones having caused 
to be circulated reports entirely destitute of foundation, con- 
cerning the journey which this general officer is about to under- 
take, I would wish the enclosed article, the authenticity of which 
I guarantee, should be inserted in the Gazette of France, and 
in the other public papers which are submitted to the inspection 
of your department. This article will undeceive those who 



494 PAUL JONES. 

have believed the calumny, and will prove to the friends and to 
the compatriots of the vice admiral, that he has sustained the 
reputation acquired by his bravery and his talents during the 
last war ; that the empress desires to retain him in her service ; 
and that if he absents himself at this moment, it is with his own 
free will, and for particular reasons, which cannot leave any 
stain on his honour. 

" The glorious marks of the satisfaction and bounty of the 
king towards M. Paul Jones, his attachment to France, which 
he has served so usefully in the common cause, his rights as a 
subject, and as an admiral of the United States, the protection 
of the ministers of the king, and my personal friendship for this 
distinguished officer, with whom I made a campaign in America, 
are so many reasons which appear to me to justify the interest 
which I took in all that concerned him during his stay in Russia. 

" The Count de Segur." 

" Article to be inserted in the Public Prints, and particularly 
in the Gazette of France. 

" St. Petersburgh, 21st July, 1789. 

" The Vice Admiral Paul Jones, being on the point of return- 
ing to France, where private affairs require his presence, had 
the honour to take leave of the empress, the 7th of this month, 
and to be admitted to kiss the hand of her imperial majesty,* 
who confided to him the command of her vessels of war sta- 
tioned on the Liman during the campaign of 1788. As a mark 
of favour for his conduct during this campaign, the empress has 
decorated him with the insignia of the order of St. Anne ; and 
her imperial majesty, satisfied with his services, only grants 
him permission to absent himself for a limited time, and still 
preserves for him his emoluments and his rank." 



* " This general officer, so celebrated by his brilliant actions during the course of 
the American war, was called, in 1787, to the service of her imperial majesty," — Note 
to the Newspaper Paragraph. 



PAUL JONES. 405 

The letters of introduction to the French functionaries at 
various courts, given by Count de Segur to Jones, are similar 
in their import, and the limits of this work compel their exclu- 
sion. He says in one of them, speaking of Jones' loss of court 
favour, " his frankness, probably imprudent, having embroiled 
him veith Potemkin, his enemies availed themselves of his loss 
of favour to ruin him ; and employed for that purpose the most 
vile artifices. An abandoned woman," «fec. The count assumes 
to himself in these letters, as in his memoirs, the sole merit of 
having preserved the admiral. " Every person has abandoned 
him ; I alone have upheld and defended him. The country to 
which he belongs, the order of military merit which he bears, 
and which he has so nobly acquired, his brilliant reputation, and 
above all, our long acquaintance, have made it a law to me • 
my cares have not been in vain; I have caused his innocence tc» 
be acknowledged." 

M. Genet furnished Jones with a letter to his sister, the cele- 
brated Madame Campan. It was as follows : " The Rear Ad- 
miral Paul Jones, who will deliver you this letter, my dear 
friend, commanded, during the last campaign, the Russian 
squadron stationed in the Liman. On that occasion the em- 
pres's decorated him with the badge of the order of St. Anne. 
He was entitled by his services to more advantageous promo- 
tion and a more distinguished reward ; but this celebrated sailor, 
knowing better how to conduct himself in the midst of battles 
than in courts, has given offence by his frankness to people in 
power, and among others to the Prince Potemkin. His ene- 
mies and rivals have profited by his temporary disgrace, to has- 
ten his ruin. Calumny has aided their wishes. They have 
given credit to a rumour absolutely false. They have accused 
him of having abused a girl. The empress excluded him from 
court and desired to bring him to trial. Every one abandoned 
him. M. de Segur has defended and sustained him. The 
country to which he belongs," <fec. [M. Genet's letter is thus far, 
and in the sentence which follows, nearly a copy of that of Count 
Segur, above quoted from.] 



496 PAUL JONES. 

" I believe also, for my own part, that I have been of some ser- 
vice to him. Our efforts have not been fruitless. He has 
re-appeared at court, and kissed the hand of the sovereign, but 
is unwilling to remain in a country where he has been treated 
with injustice. However, he has not given in his resignation. 
The empress still preserves for him his rank and emoluments, 
and only grants him permission to absent himself for a limited 
time. 

" I thought it proper to make you acquainted with this detail, 
in order that you might understand the truth, and contradict 
any false reports if they should accidentally extend as far as 
Versailles. It is impossible for me to tell you how happy I have 
been, in having it in my power to render services to a man 
whom my father loved and esteemed, and to whom I was per- 
sonally attached. I have made M. Paul Jones promise to call 
upon you, to deliver this letter himself, and am convinced it will 
give you much pleasure. I say nothing of many matters that 
occupy my attention, or of many reflections which existing cir- 
cumstances call forth. M. Paul Jones will probably be two or 
three months on his way to Paris, and all I might mention would 
have become stale before you received the letter." 

It appears from a subsequent letter of M. Genet to Jones, 
informing him that he had made a remittance in his favour, that 
he took charge of his pecuniary affairs at St. Petersburgh. 

From a letter subsequently written by Jones to the Chevalier 
Bourgoing, French minister at Hamburgh, it appears that when 
he left St. Petersburgh, his intention was to have revisited Co- 
penhagen. " I meant," he says, " on my way, to have availed 
myself of the occasion of seeing the late grand review of the 
Prussian army. My friend, the Count de Segur, favoured me 
in consequence, with letters for your excellency and for the 
Count d'Esterns, whereof you will find a copy in the enclosed 
packet for the Baron de la Houze, which I leave under a flying 
seal for your perusal, and beg you to forward to him. On my 
arrival at Warsaw, my friends advised me not to appear at the 
courts of Berlin or Copenhagen, under the present political cir- 



PAUL JONES. 49^ 

cumstances. As it was known that I had left Russia dissatis- 
fied, I thought it best to give my enemies there no handle 
against me. (They had insinuated that I would accept a com- 
mand in the Swedish navy.*) So I remained in Poland two 
months, and was treated with the greatest hospitality and polite- 
ness by the king and people of fashion. From the present 
troubles in Brabant, the necessity of supporting Sweden through 
the contest she has been led to engage in, and other circum- 
stances, I need not observe to a man of your information and 
judgment, that I fear there will be no peace this winter ; and 
that the Baltic will witness ivarmer work than it has yet done." 
The nature of his reception at the court of Warsaw, is suffi- 
ciently indicated in the foregoing epistle. His first occupation 
on arriving in that capital, appears to have been to prepare a 
journal of his American campaigns, and a sketch of that of the 
Liman, for the perusal of the empress, on a hint she had drop- 
ped, probably at a former period. His letter to her was as 
follows : 



* This was certainly a base calumny. Jones at this time chose to consider himself, 
whatever the empress' intention may have been, as absent from the service by per- 
mission; and would not have accepted a commission from the enemy of Russia. The 
following document is attached to some of the loose manuscripts. It has no date, and 
is in French. 

" NOTICE. 

" The Rear Admiral Paul Jones, desirous of niaking known unequivocally his man- 
ner of thinking in relation to his military connexion with Russia, declares: 

" 1st. That he has at all times expressed to her imperial majesty of Russia, his vow 
to preserve the condition of an American citizen and officer. 

" 2d. That having been honoured by his most christian majesty with a gold sword, 
he has made a like vow never to draw it on any occasion where war might be waged 
against his majesty's interest. 

" 3d. That circumstances which the rear admiral could not foresee when he write ou 
the last occasion, {ecrivoit en dernier lieu,) make him feel a presentiment, that in spite 
of his attachment and gratitude to her imperial majesty, and notwithstanding the ad- 
vantageous propositions which may be made to him, he will probably renounce the 
service of that power, even before the expiration of the leave of absence which he 
novv enjoys." 

It does not appear whether this declaration was ever published. 

62 



498 PAUL JONES. 

" Warsaw, 25th September, (O. S.) 1789. 

" Your imperial majesty having done me the honour to cause 
me to be informed by her secretary, Monsieur de Chrapowitzky, 
* that she would be pleased to have a copy of my journal (which 
she had read) of the American war,' I have added some testi- 
monies of the high and unanimous consideration of the United 
States, and of the private esteem with which I was honoured by 
several great men to whom I am perfectly known, such as M. 
Malsherbes and the Count d'Estaing, of France, and Mr. Mor- 
ris, minister of finance and of the American marine. I have 
the honour to present it to your majesty with profound respect 
and conjidence. 

"I owe it to my reijutation and to truth, to accompany this 
journal with an abridgment of that of the campaign of the Li- 
man. If you will deign, madam, to read it with some attention, 
you will perceive how little I have deserved the mortifications 
which I have endured, and which the justice and goodness of 
your majesty can alone make me forget. 

" As I never offended in word, or speech, or thought, against 
the laws or usages of the strictest delicacy, it would assuredly 
be most desirable to me to have the happiness of regaining, in 
spite of the malice of my enemies, the precious esteem of your 
majesty. I would have taken leave of the court on the 17th 
July, with a heart much better satisfied, had I been sent to fight 
the enemies of the empress, instead of occupying myself with 
my own private afflairs. 

" Trusting entirely on the gracious promise that your majesty 
gave me, ' never to condemn me without a hearing,' and being 
devoted to you, heart and soul, 

" I am, with profound respect," &c. &c. 

This postscript is added to the above letter : " I shall have 
the honour of sending the journal by the courier of Saturday 
next, with the proofs of every separate article. It will be sealed 
with my arms, and addressed to your majesty, and sent under 
a second cover, to the address of M. de Chrapowitzky." 



PAUL JONES. 499 

While at Warsaw, Jones became acquainted with General 
Kosciusko. On leaving it for Vienna, he addressed to him the 
following note : 

" Warsaw, November 2d, 1789. 

" My dear General — I intend to set out this day for Vi- 
enna, where I shall only stop a few days. I shall then go to 
Strasburgh, and from thence to Holland, where I expect to 
arrive before the 1st of December. My address in Holland is 
under cover to Messieurs Nic. and Jacob Stophorst, Amsterdam. 

" As I shall be in relation with our friends in America, I shall 
not fail to mention on all occasions the honourable employment 
and the respect you have attained in your own country, and the 
great regard you retain for the natives of America, where your 
character is esteemed, and your name justly beloved for your 
services. — I am," &c. 

The general's first letter in reply is not found among Jones' 
papers. The following is inserted literatim. The writer was 
not familiar with the language he employed. 

"Warsaw, 15th February, 1790. 

" My dear Sir — I had the honour to write you the 1st or 
3d of Feb. I do not recolect ; but I gave you the information to 
apply to the minister of Svede at Hague, or at Amsterdam, for 
the propositions (according to what M. D'Engestrom told me) 
they boths had order to communicate you. I wish with all my 
heart that could answer your expectation. I am totaly ignorant 
what they are ; but I could see you to fight against the oppre- 
sion and tyranny. Give me news of every thing. 
" I am, dear Sir, 

*' Your most humble, and most 
" obedient servent, 

" T. Kosciusko, G. M." 
" Write me, if you please, who is minister from America at 
Paris : I want to know his name." 



500 PAUL JONES. 

In answer to this letter, Jones wrote from Amsterdam in the 
following month : 

" My dear Sir — The letter you did me the honour to write 
me the 2d February, was delivered to my bankers here, by a 
man who demanded from them a receipt. I was then at the 
Hague, and your letter was transmitted to me. On my return 
here, some days ago, I found another letter from you of the 
15th February. This letter had, by the same man, been put 
into the hands of my bankers. You propose, if I am not mis- 
taken, that I should apply to a gentleman at the Hague, who 
has something to communicate to me. But a moment's reflec- 
tion will convince you, that considerations of what I owe to my- 
self, as well as the delicacy of my situation, do not permit me 
to take such a step. If that gentleman has any thing to com- 
municate to me, he can cither do it by writing, by desiring a 
personal conference, or by the mediation of a third person. I 
have shown your letter to my bankers, and they have said this 
much to the gentleman from whom they received it ; but this 
message, they say, he received with an air of indifference." 

The enigma of this correspondence cannot be solved. It has 
been conjectured that Kosciusko wished to engage the services 
of the rear admiral in some project with which his own mind 
was occupied. Of whatever character they were, they must 
have been hostile to Russia. 

The following note to Mr. Littlepage, equally requires the 
interpretation ofCEdipus. It is dated Warsaw, November 2d: 
" I set out this day for Vienna, where I shall stop only a day or 
two. From thence I go to Strasburgh, and shall pay a visit to 
the Duke de Wirtemburgh, at Mont Beliard. I am uncertain 
about going to Paris, under the present turbulent appearances. 
I have not received any answer from the quarter you meiltion, 
but the C. de S — , who arrived here fourteen days after I had 
written, told me that a certain memorial had been stopped by 
the C. de B — , who had written to the Prince de P — to know 



PAUL JONES. 501 

if he would permit it to be delivered to the lady to whom it was 
addressed.* I wish to disbelieve this, for it could not have 
happened so, in so short a time ; but should it prove true, I colild 
wish for your idea in consequence." 

The draft of the following letter from Vienna is among his 
loose papers. The beginning and conclusion are in French, 
the " quelque mots pour Mdlle. la comptesse" are in English. 

" A Madame et Mdlle. La Comptesse de Tomatis de Valery a 

Varsovie. 

" Vienna, 23d November, 1789. 

" Madam — 1 have executed your commission to the best of 
my ability. On arriving here, I delivered to Mademoiselle 
Caroline all the articles which you intrusted to me, except the 
fan which I had forgotten at home, (not having put it in my 
pocket at the barrier with the other articles, for fear of break- 
ing it,) and which I delivered next day to the femme-de-ckambre. 
I went to pay a visit at the convent to-day, but was unable to 
have the pleasure of seeing Mdlle. Caroline, who is slightly in- 
disposed. I saw your two other daughters, who are very pretty, 
and very interesting. They had given me hopes of having an 
audience of the emperor ; but I no longer expect it, as he sees 
no one, and conversation is painful to him. I left the works 
of Thompson at the convent, and here are some remarks for 
Mdlle. the Countess, who will have the goodness to accept 
these books as if I had had the honour of presenting them to 
her on her birth day." 

" I have spoken to you several times of the beautilful poems 
called the Seasons, written by the delicate author, whose works 
I have deposited with your sister for your acceptance. There 
is nothing in the English language that surpasses his thoughts, 
and his happy elegance of expression. In the first and second 
volumes you will meet with some small parts where the margin 



* Besborodko, Potemkin, and the empress, are plainly referred to, and perhaps the 
memorial spoken of is that which has been inserted previously. 



502 PAUL JONES. 

is marked, or the words underlined ; tliough, without that cir- 
cumstance, the contents could not have escaped your particular 
observation. Adieu ! I pay you no compliment. But I wish 
you all possible good. One word more, and be not offended. 
The manuscript I put into your hands, (and which, as I have 
since found, abounded with faults and inaccuracies,) was never 
before confided to any other person long enough to have been 
copied either partially or wholly. I did not request of you to 
let no extracts be taken from it. If any have been taken, you 
will be so good as to inform me how many ? and the extent of 
each .^" 

" I am about" (he resumes in French) " setting out on my 
way to Holland. I shall ever carry with me the remembrance 
of your kindness. My address is under envelope to Messrs. Ni- 
cholas and Jacob Van Stophorst, at Amsterdam. Should you 
learn any thing which it concerns me to know, you will have the 
goodness to inform me of it. Present my respects to M. the 
Count, ifcc." 

In the existing uncertainty as to his future destiny, in which 
he was now placed, the mind of Jones must have been much 
disturbed, panting as it ever was for action. At Amsterdam he 
was busily employed in corresponding with several eminent 
men, and with his own immediate friends. The letters which 
follow are those which possess most interest. 

*' To General Washington, President of the United States. 

" Amsterdam, December 20, 1789. 

" Sir — I avail myself of the departure of the Philadelphia 
packet, Captain Earle, to transmit to your excellency a letter 
I received for you on leaving Russia in August last, from my 
friend, the Count de Segur, minister of France at St. Peters- 
burgh. That gentleman and myself have frequently conversed 
on subjects that regard America ; and the most pleasing reflec- 
tion of all has been, the happy establishment of the new consti- 
tution, and that you are so deservedly placed at the head of the 



PAUL JONES. 503 

government by the unanimous voice of America. Your name 
alone, Sir, has established in Europe a confidence that was for 
some time before entirely w^anting in American concerns ; and 
I am assured, that the happy effects of your administration are 
still more sensibly felt throughout the United States. This is 
more glorious for you than all the laurels that your sword so 
nobly won in support of the rights of human nature. In war 
your fame is immortal as the hero of liberty ! In peace you are 
her patron, and the firmest supporter of her rights ! Your 
greatest admirers, and even your best friends, have now but 
one wish left for you, — that you may long enjoy health and 
your present happiness. 

" Mr. Jefferson can inform you respecting my mission to the 
court of Denmark. I was received and treated there with 
marked politeness; and if the^«e words I received are true, the 
business will soon be settled. I own, however, that I should 
have stronger hopes if America had created a respectable ma- 
rine; for that argument would give weight to every transaction 
with Europe. I acquitted myself of the commission with which 
you honoured me when last in America, by delivering your let- 
ters with my own hands at Paris to the persons to whom they 
were addressed." 

On the same date he wrote to the Hon. Charles Thompson, 
secretary of congress. The letter concludes as follows : 

" You mentioned to me at New York, a small but convenient 
estate to be sold in the neighbourhood of Lancaster. I think 
you said it had belonged to Mr. George Ross. May I ask the 
favour of you to inquire about it, and favour me with your opin- 
ion about the purchase of it ? I shall probably come to America 
in the summer, if the empress does not invite me to return to 
Russia before the opening of the next campaign ; a thing I do 
not expect." 

Among others of his American friends, he wrote to Mr. John 
Ross, of Philadelphia, who had a power of attorney to re- 
ceive the dividends on his bank stock, in relation principally 



604 PAUL JONES. 

to the unhandsome conduct of the bankers who had given him 
a letter of credit on Amsterdam, in consequence of one drawn 
on them by Mr. Ross, when Jones was out on his mission to 
Denmark. They directed their correspondent not to pay it 
until further advices from Mr. Ross ; and as Jones' friend, Dr. 
Bancroft, also disappointed him in not placing funds to his cre- 
dit at Amsterdam, as he had promised, the former might have 
been considerably embarrassed, had he not experienced assis- 
tance from a quarter on which, he says, he had no claim. These 
details are uninteresting ; but as allusions are made in some of 
Jones' letters to his pecuniary transactions with Dr. Bancroft, and 
the conduct of the latter has been misrepresented in the Edin- 
burgh Life of Jones, it may not be amiss to state what they 
were. Jok.«ss advanced money to Bancroft, who was engaged 
in introducing the Quercitron bark among the woollen dyers. 
The latter was unable to meet his engagement at the time re- 
ferred to; but when Jones visited England in the spring of 1790, 
for the puz'pose of making a settlement, as the term of their 
contract had expired, he received half of the amount due to 
him. The other half was afterwards paid to Sir Robert Har- 
ries, of London, in whose hands it was at the time of Jones' 
death. 

In the conclusion of his letter to Mr. Ross, Jones says : " I 
should be glad to know the state of the bank, &c. though I at 
present want no remittance. I may perhaps return to America 
in the latter end of the summer ; and in that case I shall wish 
to purchase a little farm, where I may live in peace. I am 
always affectionately yours. 

" N. B. I presume you have received my bust, as Mr. Jef- 
ferson has forwarded it for you." 

He Wrote to Franklin, as follows : 

" Amsterdam, December 27, 1789. 

" Dear Sir — The enclosed documents from my friend, the 
Count de Segur, minister plenipotentiary of France at St. Pe- 
tersburgh, will explain to you in some degree my reasons for 



PAUL JONES. 505 

leaving Russia, and the danger to which I was exposed by the 
dark intrigues and mean subterfuges of Asiatic jealousy and 
malice. Your former friendship for me, which I remember 
with particular satisfaction, and have ever been ambitious to 
merit, will, I am sure, be exerted in the kind use you will make 
of the three pieces I now send you, for my justification in, the 
eyes of my friends in America, whose good opinion is dearer to 
me than any thing else. I wrote to the empress from Warsaw 
in the beginning of October, with a copy of my journal, which 
will show her majesty how much she has been deceived by the 
account she had of our maritime operations last campaign. I 
can easily prove to the world that I have been treated unjustly, 
but I intend to remain silent at least till I know the fate of my 
journal. 

" I shall remain in Europe till after the opening of the next 
campaign, and perhaps longer, before I return to America. 
From the troubles in Brabant, and the measures now pursuing 
by the king of Prussia, &c. I presume that peace is yet a dis- 
tant object, and that the Baltic will witness warmer work than 
it has yet done. On the death of Admiral Greig, I was last 
year called from the Black Sea by the empress to command a 
squadron in the Baltic, &.c. This set the invention of all my 
enemies and rivals at work, and the event has proved that the 
empress cannot always do as she pleases. 

" N. B. It is this day ten years since I left the Texel in the 
Alliance." 

The following letter to John Parish, Esq. merchant, of Ham 
burgh, is dated December 29. " My departure from Copen- 
hagen was so sudden, that I omitted writing to you, intending 
to have done it from St. Petersburgh. There I found myself 
in such a round of feasting and business till the moment of my 
departure for the Black Sea, that I again postponed it. "Had 
I wrote you after my arrival at Cherson, I have every rea- 
son to think my letters would have been intercepted ; but, 
notwithstanding my past silence, I can truly assure you, that T 

63 



506 PAUL JONES. 

have constantly entertained the most perfect and grateful sense 
of your friendly and polite behaviour to me at Hamburgh and 
Copenhagen. I will now thankfully pay to your order the cost 
of the smoked beef you were so obliging as to send to my friend, 
Mr. Jefferson, at my request. The kind interest you have taken 
in my concerns, and the great desire to cultivate your esteem 
and friendship, are my present inducements for troubling you 
with the enclosed packet for the Chevalier Bourgoing,* (the 
French resident at Hamburgh,) which I leave under a flying 
seal for your perusal, praying you to shut the exterior cover 
before you deliver it. I shall make no comments on the docu- 
ments I send for the Baron de la Houze, but let the simple truth 
speak for herself. I shall show you, when we meet, things that 
will surprise you, for you can scarcely have an idea how much 
our operations have been misrepresented. 

" As I am for the present the master of my time, I shall per- 
haps make you a visit in the spring, and pay my tourt to some 
of your kind, rich, old ladies. To be serious, I must stay in 
Europe till it is seen what changes the present politics will pro- 
duce, and till I can hear from America; and if you think I can 
pass my tfme quietly, agreeably, and at a small expense at 
Hamburgh, I should prefer it to the fluctuating prospects of 
other places." 

In the letter referred to in the foregoing, inclosing copies of 
the letters of Count Segur for the perusal of the Baron de la 
Houze, who had shown Jones many attentions at Copenhagen, 
he complains that his correspondence had miscarried or been 
intercepted. Of many letters which he had written to Mr. Jef- 
ferson, but one had been received, by a private hand. Mr. Jef- 
ferson had returned to America, and been appointed secretary 
of state. He had obtained no definitive answer in relation to 
the claim on Denmark. " As a Russian officer," says Jones, 
"I do not pretend to interfere in this matter; but as the sub- 



* This letter has been previously inserted. 



PAUL JONES. 507 

jects of France have an interest in it, you will undoubtedly find 
it expedient to confer further with the Count de Bernstorf on the 
subject. The only substantial difficulty which he suggested to 
me in conversation, was, that the new constitution of the United 
States was not yet in force. But this objection no longer exists." 

In a postscript to this letter to the baron, he says, " I have 
many things to tell you about the moustaches of the capitan pacha, 
who is a very brave man. The public has been misinformed 
as to our dealings with him. I expect to go to France, but shall 
probably visit you in the spring." 

The baron in his reply from Copenhagen, on the 9th of Feb- 
ruary following, said : 

" It is but a few days since I received, with the letter with 
which you have honoured me of the 29th December, the copies 
of that of the Count de Segur, which you have been pleased to 
communicate to me, and which were accompanied by the article 
inserted on your account in the Gazette of France, and which 
I had read. This article, which has been repeated in many 
foreign gazettes, has entirely destroyed all the venomous effects 
which calumny had employed to tarnish the distinguished repu- 
tation which you have acquired by your talents and valour. 
In consequence, public opinion still continues to render you jus- 
tice, and the most noble revenge you can take on your enemies 
is to gather fresh laurels. The celebrated Athenian general, 
Themistocles, has said : ' I do not envy the situation of the man 
who is not envied.' " 

He also informed Jones that the situation of the claim was 
as he had left it ; he not having been clothed with plenipotentiary 
powers, and the Danish minister taking the ground that Paris 
ought to have been the seat of the negotiation. 

To Baron Krudiner, who was still the Russian envoy at Co- 
penhagen, Jones wrote on the same occasion, referring to the 
letters he had enclosed for Bai'on de la Houze. He said : " Not- 
withstanding the unjust treatment I received in Russia, the 
warm attachment with which the empress inspired me at the 
beginning, still remains rooted in my heart. You know. Sir, 



508 PAUL JONES. 

that her imperial majesty thought my sword an object worthy 
of her attention, sought it with the most flattering eagerness, 
and treated me the first time I was at her court with unexam- 
pled distinction. That sword has been successfully and fre- 
quently drawn on critical occasions, to render the most essential 
services to her empire, and to cover her flag with fresh laurels. 
For this I have greatly exposed my reputation, and entirely 
sacrificed my military pride. Yet I have seen the credit of my 
services bestowed on others, and I am the only officer who 
made the campaign of the Liman without being advanced. In 
a letter I wrote the empress, the 17th day of May last, I men- 
tioned that her majesty would soon receive a direct proof from 
America of the unanimous approbation with which I am ho- 
noured by the United States. I alluded to the gold medal which 
I am to receive, and respecting which you have in your hands 
a copy of the unanimous act of Congress. That medal is now 
elegantly executed, and is ready for me at Paris. The United 
States have ordered a copy of my medal to be presented to every 
sovereign in Europe, Great Britain excepted. When we meet, 
I shall produce clear proof of all I have said respecting Russia. 
The only promise I asked from the empress at the beginning, 
and, indeed, the only condition I made with her majesty, was, 
that " she should not condemn me idthont having heard me.^'' I 
need make no remark to a man of your clear understanding. 
You advised me to write to the empress hy the post. I wrote 
several letters while in the department of the Black Sea to my 
friend Mr. Jeff"erson, at Paris, containing no detail of our opera- 
tions, yet they were all intercepted. I have, I think, reason to 
apprehend that there will be no peace this winter, and that the 
Baltic will witness warmer work than it has yet done. 

*' You remember that Count B (Bernstorf) showed you 

a paper which he sent, to be delivered to me by the Danish 
minister at St. Petersburgh. I received that paper without 
any alteration whatever, either in the ' date,"* or otherwise. If 
I understand you right, it was intended that ' a year''s payment 
would he made in advance^ but I have not since heard a word in 



PAUL JONES. 509 

that respect. I wish to be informed how the payment is in- 
tended to be made. It cannot surely be in Danish bank-paper. 
You will do me a great favour if you can obtain an explicit an- 
swer, and it would be much more agreeable if the payment 
could be made here, instead of being made at any other place. 
I have not yet mentioned this affair to any person whatever, 
except yourself. You are no stranger to my sentiments. You 
know the present happy state of America. That nation will 
soon cxeate a respectable marine. It is now a year since I gave 
a plan to the court of St. Petersburgh, for forming a political 
and commercial connexion with the United States. The em- 
press approved this much, and there was question of sending 
me to America in consequence. But a great man told me, 
* que cela enrageroit les Anglais d'avantage centre la Russie, 
et qu'il falloit auparavant faire la paix avec les Turcs.' Accept 
my warm congratulations on the well-merited advancement 
you have received in the order of St. Wolodimer. I hear that 
your lady is at Paris. I beg you to assure her of my great 
respect," &c. &c. 

The pension would no doubt have been convenient at this 
time, as he had been merely paid by the Russian government, 
as has been mentioned, at the rate of 1800 roubles per annum, 
and his great expenses had more than exhausted the advances 
made by that government ; while he found it difficult to realize 
money from his private resources. Baron Krudiner's reply, 
on the 6th February following, is brief, and may, therefore, be 
as well inserted. " It is with lively sensibility that I have re- 
ceived the mark of remembrance with which your excellency 
was pleased to honour me, under date of the 29th December ; 
and the hope it holds forth, that I may probably see you in the 
course of the spring, adds to my satisfaction. I have spoken to 
Count B. touching your business. He told me that every thing 
was at your own disposition ; that you had only to send a brief 
receipt, or an order to receive the money, to any person here, 
and payment would be made ; but that it was impossible it 



510 PAUL JONES. 

should be in other money than in that of the country. You 
have witnessed, Sir, the efforts I have made in this business, 
and that every thing would have been arranged agreeably to 
your own desire, if success had corresponded to the warmth of 
my intentions. They entrench themselves behind the impos- 
sibility of making an exception to, and breach of, a rule gene- 
rally established. Accept my sincere compliments on the flat- 
tering mark of esteem and distinction which the United States 
of America have bestowed upon you. They have anticipated 
history. It is yet doubtful whether we shall have peace this 
year ; in all events I flatter myself, as a good Russian, that 
your arm is always reserved for us." 

Whatever Bernstorf may seriously have intended, it is certain 
that Jones never received a farthing of the Danish pension. 

The following letter in French, is without direction : 

" Amsterdam, March 12th, 1790. 
" Sir — I answered at the time the letter you did me the ho- 
nour of writing me from Stuttgrade, on the 20th June, 1788. 
That letter was despatched to me from St. Petersburgh, to the 
squadron then under my orders before Oczakow. But as I 
have not been honoured with new advices from you since I 
wrote, it is to be presumed that my letter did not reach you. I 
avail myself of a private opportunity, again to testify my grati- 
tude for the favour you have been pleased to do me on the part 
of the order of which you are vice chancellor, by transmitting to 
me a copy of its fundamental laws, and proposing to receive me 
as a member. But you will allow me, Sir, at the same time, 
to repeat to you, that having drawn my sword only for honour, 
being decorated already with three honourable orders, and 
having received glorious marks of the most distinguished satis- 
faction and esteem from his most christian majesty and from 
the United States, I could not answer it to myself to pay mo- 
ney for admission, or even to be regarded by the order as an 
hereditary member. I have no right to interfere with the order ; 
but without being wanting in respect, I may be permitted to 



rT-i 



PAUL JONES. 511 

say, that I have never bought honours otherwise than by my 
conduct. I have written memoirs of my campaigns, but have 
not the courage to give them up for publication. I expect to 
remain here until the 16th of April." 

Jones went to England, as has been mentioned, to make his 
arrangements with Dr. Bancroft, and returned to Paris the 
same spring. He had been expected in that city early in the 
winter, as appears by a letter to him from 3Ir. Short, United 
States consul at the court of France, to whom he had written 
in relation to the medal, and, as it would seem, to the feasibility 
of having a series struck, commemorating his victories. It also 
appears by this letter, that M. Grand, Jones' banker in Paris, 
had no money belonging to him in his hands at this time ; 
which corroborates the belief that he visited England from ne- 
cessity. 

The first letter from Paris, among his papers, is to M. Genet, 
who remained at the Russian court, after Count Segur had left 
it. It is dated June 1st. " As I arrived here," he says, " only 
a few days ago, from Holland and England, I have not 
yet had the pleasure to see your sister.* I hope to have the 
honour very soon, and will deliver to her my bust, as a mark of 
my personal regard towards your father and yourself. M. de 
Simolin does me the honour to forward this letter to you. I 
have shown him proof that, if I have not sought to avenge my- 
self of the unjust and cruel treatment I met with in Russia, my 
forbearance has been only the result of my delicate attachment 
towards the empress." " You will oblige me by inquiring at 
the cabinet, and demanding the appointments due to me for the 
current year, which ends the 1st of July, agreeably to the pro- 
mise of the empress, communicated to me by the Counts de 
Bruce and Besborodko. I wish to have that money immedi- 
ately transmitted to me." 



* M. Genet's letter of introduction to Madame Campan, has beeu previously men- 
tioned 



512 PAUL JONES. 

Two letters to a lady at Avignon may be introduced here. I 
am not informed who the lady was, nor do the papers throw any 
light on the subject. 

To Madame Le Mair d'Altignyi at Avignon. 

" Amsterdam, 8th February, 1790. 

" I have received, my dear madam, the two obliging letters 
you did me the honour to address to me from Avignon on the 
18th and 22d of December. Accept also, I pray you, my sin- 
cere acknowledgments for the two letters you had the kindness 
to send me at Strasburgh. I am infinitely flattered by the in- 
terest with which I have the happiness to have inspired you, 
and your good wishes in my concerns give me true pleasure. I 
am not come here on account of any thing connected with mili- 
tary operations ; and though I think it right to retain my rank, 
I have always regai'ded war as the scourge of the human race. 
I am very happy that you are once more above your difficulties. 
Past events will enable you to value the blessings of Providence, 
among which, to a sensible heart, there are none greater than 
health and independence, enjoyed in the agreeable society of 
persons of merit. As soon as circumstances permit, I shall feel 
eager to join the delightful society in which you are. As you 
have not sent me your address at Avignon, I beg of you to do 
so, and to be assured of my entire esteem." 

. A reply was received, it appears, to this letter ; but the cor- 
respondence was not briskly sustained on the part of Jones. 

" Paris, December 27, 1790. 

" My dear Madam — I have received your charming letter 
of the 2d March. Having an affair of business to arrange in 
England, I went from Amsterdam to London at the beginning 
of May, to settle it. I escaped being murdered on landing. 
From London I came hither, and have not had an hour of 
health since my arrival. I now feel convalescent, otherwise I 
would not have dared to write, for fear of giving pain to your 
feeling heart. In leaving Holland my plan was to repair to 



PAUL JONES. 513 

Avignon, in compliance with your obliging invitation. My 
health formed an invincible obstacle, but I still hope to indem- 
nify myself on the return of the fine weather. . I was for a long 
time very much alarmed by the disturbances which interrupted 
the peace of your city, and am very glad to see they are ended. 
I have learned, with lively satisfaction, that they have had no 
disagreeable consequences so far as regards you. Give me 
news of yourself, I pray you, and of those interesting persons 
of whom you speak in your last letter. Accept the assurance 
of the sincere sentiments which you are formed to inspire." 

The following letter to his sister, Mrs. Taylor, is one of the 
few documents which remain to be inserted, that can be read 
without painful associations. The last enemy with whom all 
men have to contend, and to whom they must all yield up their 
earthly possessions, hopes, and dreams, had already effected a 
lodgement in the constitution of Jones; and the period of action 
was closed for him. Disappointment from many quarters embit- 
tered the last two years of his life, and promoted the progress 
of the disease, or more properly complication of diseases, which 
was hurrying him from a world of restlessness and perplexity. 

" Amsterdam, March 26, 1790. 

" I wrote you, my dear friend, from Paris, by Mr. Kennedy, 
who delivered me the kind letter you wrote me by him. Cir- 
cumstances obliged me to return soon afterwards to America, 
and on my arrival at New York, Mr. Thomson delivered me a 
letter that had been intrusted to his care by Mrs. Loudon. It 
would be superfluous to mention the great satisfaction I received 
in hearing from two persons I so much love and esteem, and 
whose worthy conduct as wives and mothers is so respectable 
in my eyes. Since my return to Europe, a train of circum- 
stances and changes of residence have combined to keep me 
silent. This has given me more pain than I can express ; for I 
have a tender regard for you both, and nothing can be indifferent 
to me that regards your happiness and the welfare of your chil- 
dren. I wish for a particular detail of their age, respective ta- 

64 



514 PAUL JONES. 

lents, characters, and education. I do not desire this informa- 
tion merely from curiosity. It would afford me real satisfaction 
to be useful to their establishment in life. We must study the 
genius and inclination of the boys, and try to fit them, by a suit- 
able education, for the pursuits we may be able to adopt for 
their advantage. When their education shall be advanced to 
a proper stage, at the school of Dumfries for instance, it must 
then be determined whether it may be most economical and ad- 
vantageous for them to go to Edinburgh or France to finish 
their studies. All this is supposing them to have great natural 
genius and goodness of disposition ; for without these they can 
never become eminent. For the females, they require an edu- 
cation suited to the delicacy of character that is becoming in 
their sex. I wish I had a fortune to offer to each of them; but 
though this is not the case, I may yet be useful to them. And 
I desire particularly to be useful to the two young women, who 
have a double claim to my regard, as they have lost their father. 
Present my kind compliments to Mrs. Loudon, to her husband, 
to Mr. Taylor, and your two families, and depend on my affec- 
tionate attachment. 

"Write me without delay, and having sealed and directed 
your letter as you did the one you sent me by Mr. Kennedy, let 
it be enclosed in a cover, and direct the cover thus, ' To Mes- 
sieurs Stophorst and Hubbard, Amsterdam.' You will inquire 
if it be necessary to pay a part of the postage, in order that the 
letter may be sent to Holland in the packet. I should be glad 
if the two Miss Youngs* would do me the favour to write me 
each a paragraph in your letter, or to write me, if they prefer it, 
each a separate letter, and I should be glad to find that they un- 
derstand and can write the French." 

On the 24th of July, in this year, (1790,) he thought proper 
to address a letter to Potemkin. The admirers of his courage 



* His orphan nieces alluded to above. 



PAUL JONES. 515 

and independence of character, will regret that he should have 
done so, unless business or etiquette required it. But it must 
be recollected, that this was the only useful avenue through which 
he could approach the throne of the Czarina ; that he was 
wearied with his inert and unpleasant position ; and that his 
habit of persevering, by letter writing, to enforce the accomplish- 
ment of his objects, from those in power, by dint of importunity, 
was constitutional and inveterate. 

" Paris, 24th July, 1790. • 

" My Lord — I do not think it becomes me to let pass the 
occasion of the return of your aid-de-camp, to congratulate 
you on the brilliant success of your operations since I had the 
honour to serve under your orders, and to express to you, in all 
the sincerity of my heart, the regret I feel in not being fortunate 
enough to contribute thereto. After the campaign of Liman, 
when I had leave, according to the special desire of her impe- 
rial majesty, to return to the department of the northern seas, 
your highness did me the favour to grant me a letter of recom- 
mendation to the empress, and to speak to me these words: 
' Rely upon my attachment. I am disposed to grant you the 
most solid proofs of my friendship for the present and for the 
future.' Do you recollect them ? This disclosure was too flat- 
tering for me to forget it, and I hope you will permit me to re- 
mind you of it. Circumstances and the high rank of my ene- 
mies have deprived me of the benefits which I had dared to hope 
from the esteem which you had expressed for me, and which I 
had endeavoured to merit by my services. You know the dis- 
agreeable situation in which I was placed ; but if, as I dared to 
believe, I have preserved your good opinion, I may still hope to 
see it followed by advantages, which it will be my glory to owe 
to you. M. de Simolin can testify to you, that my attachment 
to Russia, and to the great princess who is its sovereign, has 
always been constant and durable ; I attended to my duties, and 
not to my fortune. I have been wrong, and I avow it with 
a frankness which carries with it its own excuse : 1st, That 1 



516 PAUL JONES. 

did not request of you a carte-blanche, and the absolute com- 
mand of all tliQ forces of the Liman. 2d, To have written to 
your highness under feelings highly excited, on the 25th Octo- 
ber, (N. S.) 1788. These are my faults. If my enemies have 
wished to impute others to me, I swear before God that they 
are a calumny. It only rests with me, my lord, to unmask the 
villany of my enemies, by publishing my journal of the opera- 
tions of the campaign of Liman, with the proofs, clear as the 
day, and wliich I have in my hands. It only rests with me to 
prove that I directed, under your orders, all the useful opera- 
tions against the capitan pacha ; that it was I who beat him on 
the 7th June ; that it was I and the brave men I commanded 
who conquered him on the 17th June, and who chased into the 
sands two of his largest galleys, before our flotilla was ready to 
fire a single shot, and during the time a very considerable part 
of the force of the enemy remained at anchor immediately in 
rear of my squadron ; that it was I who gave to General Su- 
vorrofF, (he had the nobleness to declare it at court before me, 
to the most respectable witnesses,) the first project to establish 
the battery and breast-works on the isthmus of Kinbourn, and 
which were of such great utility on the night of the 17th — 18th 
June; that it was I, in person, who towed, with my sloops and 
other vessels, the batteries which were the nearest to the place, 
the 1st July, and who took the Turkish galleys by boarding, 
very much in advance of our line, whilst some gentlemen, who 
have been too highly rewarded in consequence of it, were con- 
tent to remain in the rear of the struggles of our line, if I may 
be allowed to use the expression, sheltered from danger. You 
have seen, yourself, my lord, that I never valued my person on 
any occasion where I had the good fortune to act under your eye. 
The whole of Europe acknowledges my veracity, and grants me 
some military talents, which it would give me pleasure to employ 
in the service of Russia, under your orders. 

" The time will arrive, my lord, when you will know the exact 
truth of what I have told you. Time is a sovereign master. 
It will teach you to appreciate the man, who, loaded with your 



PAUL JONES. 517 

benefits, departed from the court of Russia with a memorial 
prepared by other hands and the enemies of your glory, and of 
which memorial he made no use, because your brilliant success 
at the taking of Oczakow, which he learned on his arrival in 
White Russia, gave the lie to all the horrors which had been 
brought forward to enrage the empress against you. You know 
it was the echo of another intriguer at the court of Vienna. In 
fine, time will teach you, my lord, that I am neither a mounte- 
bank nor a swindler, but a man true and loyal. I rely upon the 
attachment and friendship which you promised me. I rely on 
it, because I feel myself worthy of it. I reclaim your promise, 
because you are just, and I know you are a lover of truth. I 
commanded, and was the only responsible person in the cam- 
paign of the Liman, the others being only of inferior rank, or 
simple volunteers; and I am, however, the only one who has 
not been promoted or rewarded. I am extremely thankful for 
the order of St. Anne which you procured for me, according to 
your letter of thanks, for my cmiduct in the affair of the 7th June, 
which was not decisive. The 17th June 1 gained over the capi- 
tan pacha a complete victory, which saved Cherson and Kin- 
bourn, the terror of which caused the enemy to lose nine vessels 
of war in their precipitate flight on the following night, under 
the cannon of the battery and breast-work which I had caused 
to be erected in the isthmus of Kinbourn. On this occasion I 
had the honour again to receive a letter of thanks; but my ene- 
mies and rivals have found means to abuse your confidence, 
since they have been exclusively rewarded. They merited ra- 
ther to have been punished for having burnt nine armed prizes, 
with their crews, which were absolutely in our power, having 
previously ran aground under our guns. 

" I have been informed that, according to the institution of 
the order of St. George, I have the right to claim its decora- 
tions in the second class for the victory of the 17th June, but I 
rely upon your justice and generosity. I regret that a secret 
project, which 1 addressed to the Count de Besborodko the 6th 
of June of the last year, has not been adopted. I communi- 



518 TAUL JONES. 

cated this project to the Baron de Beichler, who has promised 
uie to speak to you of it. I was detained in St. Petersburgh 
until the end of August, in order to hinder me, as I have heard, 
from proceeding into the service of Sweden. My poor enemies, 
how I pity them ! But for this circuujstance my intention was 
to have presented myself at your head-quarters, in the hope to 
be of some utiUty ; and the Baron de Beichler, in departing 
from St. Petersburgh in order to join you, promised me to as- 
sure you of my devotion for the service of your department, and 
that I should hold myself ready to return to you the instant I 
was called. My conduct has not since changed, although I hold 
in my hand a parole for two years, and I regard eighteen 
months of this parole, in a time of war, more as a punishment 
than as a favour. I hope that your highness will succeed in 
concluding peace this year with the Turk. ; but, in a contrary 
case, if it should please you to recall me to take command of the 
fleet in the ensuing campaign, I would ask permission to bring 
with me the French officer concerning whom I spoke to you, 
with one or two others, who are good tacticians, and who have 
some knowledge of war. On my return here I received a gold 
medal, granted me by the unanimous voice of Congress, at the 
moment I received a parole from this honourable body. The 
United States have decreed me this honour, in order to perpe- 
tuate the remembrance of the services which I rendered to 
America eight years previous, and have ordered a copy to be 
presented to all the sovereigns and all the academies of Europe, 
with the exception of Great Britain. There is reason to be- 
lieve that your highness will be numbered among the sovereigns 
of Europe, in consequence of the treaty of peace which you are 
about to conclude with the Turks; but in any case, if a copy of 
my medal will be acceptable to you as a mark of my attach- 
ment for your person, it will do me an honour to offer it to you. 

" Paul Jones." 

Indisposition gaining upon his health daily, to which he ad- 
verts in several of his letters, probably interrupted his active 



PAUL JONES. 



519 



correspondence during this year ; and the record of his engage- 
ments, occupations, and thoughts, is scanty. It would probably 
be but a feverish picture, painful to contemplate. The follow- 
ing, written on hearing of a family dissension, is the only other 
of interest, among his papers, written in 1790 : 

" Paris, December 27, 1790. 

" I duly received, my dear Mrs. Taylor, your letter of the 
16th August, but ever since that time I have been unable to 
answer it, not having been capable to go out of my chamber, 
and having been for the most part obliged to keep my bed. I 
have now no doubt but that I am in a fair way of a perfect re- 
covery, though it will require time and patience. 

" I shall not conceal from you that your family discord aggra- 
vates infinitely all my pains. My grief is inexpressible, that 
two sisters, whose happiness is so interesting to me, do not live 
together in that mutual tenderness and affection which would do 
so much honour to themselves and to the memory of their wor- 
thy relations. Permit me to recommend to your serious study 
and application Pope's Universal Prayer. You will find more 
morality in that little piece, than in many volumes that have 
been written by great divines — 

' Teach me lo fed another's wo, 

To hide the fault I see ; 
That mercy I to others show, 

Such mercy show tome !' 

*' This is not the language of a weak superstitious mind, but 
the spontaneous offspring of true religion, springing from a 
heart sincerely inspired by charity, and deeply impressed with 
a sense of the calamities and frailties of human nature. If the 
sphere in which Providence has placed us as members of so- 
ciety requires the exercise of brotherly kindness and charity 
towards our neighbour in general, how much more is this our 
duty with respect to individuals with whom we are connected 
by the near and tender ties of nature, as well as moral obligation 



520 PAUL JONES. 

Every lesser virtue may pass away, but charity comes from 
Heaven, and is immortal. Though I wish to be the instru- 
ment of making family peace, which I flatter myself would tend 
to promote the happiness of you all, yet I by no means desire 
you to do violence to your own feelings, by taking any step that 
is contrary to your own judgment and inclination. Your re- 
conciliation must come free from your heart, otherwise it will 
not last, and therefore it will be better not to attempt it. Should 
a reconciliation take place, I recommend it of all things, that 
you never mention past grievances, nor show, by word, look, or 
action, that you have not forgot them." 

Early in the next year, 1791, he again memorialized the 
empress, having, for aught that appears to the contrary, heard 
nothing directly or indirectly from Potemkin, and having been 
cheered with no intimation from the empress, that she had read 
his journals and justificatory papers, or held him in remem- 
brance as an ofiicer subject to her orders. 

" To her Imperial Majesty of all the Riissias. 

" Paris, 8th March, (N. S.) 1791. 
" Madam — If I could imagine that the letter which I had the 
honour to write to your majesty from Warsaw, the 25th Sep- 
tember, 1789, had come to hand, it would be without doubt in- 
discreet in me to beg you to cast your eyes on the documents 
enclosed, which accuse no person,* and the only intent of which 
is, to let you see that in the important campaign of Liman, the 
part which I played was not either that of a zero or of a harle- 
quin, who required to be made a colonel at the tail of his regi- 
ment. I have in my hands the means to prove, incontestibly, 
that I directed all the useful operations against the capitan pa- 
cha. The task which was given to me at this critical conjunc- 



* Inserted probably to provide for the case of the letters being intercepted and read 
by Besborodko, as he had been informed happened before ; which he intimates in a 
letter to Mr. Littlepage, previously inserted. 



PAUL JOJVES. 521 

ture was. very difficult. I was obliged to sacrifice my own 
opinion and risk my miUtary reputation for the benefit of your 
empire. But I hope you will be satisfied with the manner in 
which I conducted myself, and also of the subsequent arrange- 
ments, of which I am persuaded you have not been acquainted 
until this moment. The gracious counsel which your majesty 
has often done me the honour to repeat to me before my depar- 
ture for the Black Sea, and in the letter which you deigned to 
write to me afterwards, has since been the rule of my conduct ; 
and the faithful attachment with which you had inspired me for 
your person, was the only reason which hindered me from re-' 
questing my dismissal when I wrote to you from Warsaw ; for 
I confess that I was extremely afflicted, and even offended, at 
having received a parole for two years in time of war ; a parole 
which it has never entered into my mind to wish for, and still 
less to ask, and of which I have not profited to go to America, 
or even to Denmark,* where I had important business; for I 
had always hoped to be usefully employed in your service, be- 
fore the expiration of this parole, which has done me so mucli 
injury ; and although in public I would not have failed to have 
spoken to you at the last audience which you granted me, yet I 
was unfortunately led to believe the repeated promises made 
me, that I should have a private audience, in order to lay before 
you my military projects, and to speak of them in detail. 

" I hope that the brilliant success with which Providence has 
blessed your arms, will enable you to grant peace to your ene- 
mies without shedding more of human blood ; but in a contrary 
case, your majesty can be well instructed from my projects, No. 
12, of the last year. 

" As I have my enemies, and as the term of my parole is 
about to expire, I await the orders of your majesty, and should 



* There is no reason to believe that he wrote thus merely from policy, or was not 
sincere. On the contrary, if he had gone to Copenhagen, it is likely that he would 
have obtained the arrearages of his pension ; and that he was prevented by considera- 
tions arising from his relations to the Russian government. 

65 



522 PAUL JOWES. 

be flattered, if it is your pleasure for me to come and render 

you an account in person. Mr. , who has the goodness to 

charge himself with this packet, which I have addressed to him, 
sealed with my arms, will also undertake to forward me your 
orders ; I therefore pray you to withdraw me as soon as possi- 
ble from the cruel uncertainty in which I am placed. Should 
you deign, Madam, to inform me that you are pleased with the 
services which I have had the happiness to render you, I will 
console myself for the misfortunes which I have suffered, as I 
drew my sword for you from personal attachment and ambition, 
but not for interest. My fortune, as you know, is not very con- 
siderable ; but as I am philosopher enough to confine myself to 
my means, I shall be always rich." 

The following correspondence with two ladies whom he num- 
bered among his friends, took place at this time, and diversifies 
the character of the remaining materials for his biography. 

To Mesdames Le Gramle and Rinshy, a Tremux, pres de Lion 

" Paris, February 25, 1791. 

" Dear and amiable ladies — Madame Clement has read 
me part of a letter from you, in which you conclude that I pre 
fer love to friendship, and Paris to Trevoux. As to the first 
part you may be right, for love frequently communicates divine 
qualities, and in that light may be considered as the cordial that 
Providence has bestowed on mortals, to help them to digest the 
nauseous draught of life. Friendship, they say, has more solid 
qualities than love. This is a question I shall not attempt to 
resolve ; but sad experience generally shows, that where we ex- 
pect to find a friend, we have only been treacherously deluded 
by false appearances, and that the goddess herself very seldom 
confers her charms on any of the human race. As to the second, 
I am too much a philosopher to prefer noise to tranquillity : if 
this does not determine the preference between Paris and Tre- 
voux, I will add, that T have had very bad health almost ever 



■» 



PAUL JONES. 523 

since your departure, and that other circumstances have con- 
spired to detain me here, which have nothing to do either with 
love or friendship. My health is now recovering, and as what 
is retarded is not always lost, I hope soon to have the happiness 
of paying you my personal homage, and of renewing the assu- 
rance of that undiminished attachment which women of such 
distinguished worth and talents naturally inspire. I am," &-c. 

The answer of the lady first mentioned in the direction of 
this letter, follows. 

"Trevoux, 6th March, 1791. 

" Sir — I had given up the hope of receiving any intelligence 
of your excellency, and I acknowledge it cost me much before I 
could believe that the promise of a great man was no more to 
be relied on than that of the herd of mankind. The letter with 
which you have honoured me convinces me that my heart knew 
you better than my head ; for though my reason whispered that 
you had quite forgotten us, I was unwilling to believe it. 

"Madame Wolfe, as well as myself, is much concerned for 
the bad state of your health. I am sorry that, like myself, your 
excellency is taught the value of health by sickness. Come to 
us. Sir ; if you do not find here the pleasures you enjoy in Paris, 
you will find a good air, frugal meals, freedom, and hearts that 
can appreciate you. 

"I am concerned to perceive that your excellency is an un- 
believer in friendship. Alas, if you want friends, who shall pre- 
tend to possess them ! I hope you will recover from this error, 
and be convinced that friendship is something more than a chi- 
mera of Plato. 

" Do me the favour to acquaint me with the time we may 
expect the honour of seeing you. I must be absent for some 
days, and I would not for any thing in the world that I should 
not be here on your arrival. If I knew the time, I would send 
my little carriage to meet the stage-coach, as I suppose you will 
take that conveyance. 



524 PAUL JONES. 

" Madame Wolfe expects the moment of your arrival with as 
much eagerness as myself, (she says ;) but as I best know my 
own feelings, I am certain I go beyond her. Of this I am cer- 
tain, that we shall both count the day till we have the happiness 
of seeing you. Come quickly then, I pray you." 

To several letters written by him at the close of February, in 
which he seems to have had a respite from the immediate ef- 
fects of his malady, it is merely necessary to allude. The United 
States having named a vice consul for the port of Marseilles, and 
the appointment of other functionaries for commercial purposes 
in different European ports being expected, he offered to his 
banker in Paris, (M. Grand,) his good offices with the United 
States' secretary of legation, Mr. Short, to procure him such a 
situation, which he had seemed desirous of obtaining ; and to 
the latter gentleman he wrote, recommending M. Neissen, a 
merchant of Amsterdam, and friend of his, to be nominated as 
consul for that port. He also recommended the appointment 
of a commercial agent at Elsineur. He says in the conclusion 
of this letter : " I called the other day on M. Dupres, who in- 
formed me that Mr. Jefferson had taken from him the dies of my 
medal, after three examples only had been struck. Pray are the 
dies in your possession, or are they carried to America ? Accept 
my compliments on your success, and on the credit of your 
country. But I am still of opinion that a loan may be made, at 
less than 5 per cent." He enclosed his vindicatory papers, in 
relation to the Russian campaign, to the Hon. William Carmi- 
chael, who was in a diplomatic capacity at Madrid. He says : 
" You will judge how unfortunate I was, in having to do with 
the greatest knight of industry* under the sun : an enemy the 



* He writes in English, but uses a French phrase, which though now universal, 
may perhaps not be familiar to some American readers. The chevalier d'industrie 
is neither more nor less than a black-leg, which phrase he does not scruple to apply, 
not without figurative propriety, to the Prince de Nassau. He was a gambler or specu- 
lator in the wars between nations. 



PAUL JONES. 523 

more dangerous, as his ignorance, which has since appeared in 
such glaring colours to all Europe, had put me off my guard. 
Soon after I left Russia, I sent to the empress ray journal of 
the important campaign I commanded on the Liman, and be- 
fore Oczakow ; but it contained such damning proofs against 
my enemies, that it has undoubtedly been intercepted. As a 
sure occasion offers, I shall write again next month ; and my 
letter will contain my resignation, in case I receive no imme- 
diate satisfaction." In a postscript he asks : " Pray can you 
inform me whether any thing efficacious is in agitation, for the 
relief of our unhappy countrymen at Algiers ? Nothing pro- 
vokes me so much, as the shameful neglect they have so long 
experienced." 

On the 20th of March following, he addressed Mr. Jefferson 
at great length, and as the letter has been several times pub- 
lished, and is not essentially necessary to the exposition of his 
feelings and circumstances, extracts from it will suffice. He 
informed the secretary of state, that he had received no answers 
to his letters addressed to the high public officers in America, 
more than a year previous ; congratulated him on the accep- 
tance of the high station which he filled ; and took occasion to 
make a remark, suggested by the contrast between the lavish 
amount of European appointments, which he immediately had 
under his eye, and those dictated by the spirit of republican 
economy which have, even up to this time, been found sufficient 
to make a post in the American cabinet an object of patriotic 
ambition. He said, " It gives me pain that so inadequate a 
provision has been made, for doing the honours incumbent on 
the first minister of a nation of such resources as America, 
and I wish that matter may be soon changed to your satis- 
faction." Mr. Jefferson argued in favour of no increase of 
salary. 

Jones mentions the documents in his vindication, which he 
transmitted with his despatch, and intimated his presentiment that 
he should be constrained to withdraw from the Russian service, 
and publish his journal of the campaign. Referring to the scandal 



526 PAUL JONES. 

which was made available to drive him from St. Petersburgh, he 
says : *' Chevalier Littlepage, now here on his way from Spain to 
the north, has promised me a letter to you on ray subject, which 
I presume will show the meanness and absurdity of the intrigues 
that were practised for my persecution at St. Petersburgh. I 
did not myself comprehend all the blackness of that business 
before he came here, and related to me the information he re- 
ceived from a gentleman of high rank in the diplomatic depart- 
ment, with whom he travelled in company from Madrid to Paris. 
That gentleman had long resided in a public character at St. 
Petersburgh, and was there all the time of the pitiful complot 
against me ; which was conducted by a little-great man behind 
the curtain. The unequalled reception with which I had, at 
first, been honoured by the empress, had been extremely mor- 
tifying and painful to the English at St. Petersburgh, and the 
courtier just mentioned, (finding that politics had taken a turn 
far more alarming than he had expected at the beginning of the 
war,) wishing to sooth the court of London into a pacific humour, 
found no first step so expedient as that of sacrificing me ! But 
instoad of producing the effect he wished, this base conduct, on 
which he pretended to ground a conciliation, rather widened the 
political breach, and made him to be despised by the English 
minister, by the English cabinet, and by the gentleman who re- 
lated the secret to the Chevalier Littlepage." The reader must 
exercise his own sagacity in conjecturing who this little great 
man and courtier was ; it surpasses that of the editor. It is 
but just to remark, however, that this statement seems to excul- 
pate any English agent from a direct action in the propagation 
of the infamous slander. Jones next informed Mr. Jefferson 
of the circumstances under which the patent was given, grant- 
ing him during life a pension of fifteen hundred crowns from the 
treasury of Denmark. This patent was dated on the 4th day 
of December, 1788, the same day on which Count Bernstorf 
wrote the letter to Jones, which effectually terminated the pro- 
gress of his negotiations at that time. In Jones' letter to Mr. 
Jefferson immediately after, he makes no mention of the par- 



PAUL JONES. 527 

ticular circumstances and manner in which the propitiatory ob- 
lation was made, though he refers to his interview with the 
prince. In the letter now before us, he says : 

" The day before I left the court of Copenhagen, the prince 
royal had desired to speak with me in his apartment. His 
royal highness was extremely polite, and after saying many 
civil things, remarked, he hoped I was satisfied with the atten- 
tions that had been shown to me since my arrival, and that the 
king would wish to give me some mark of his esteem. ' I have 
never had the happiness to render any service to his majesty.' 
' That is nothing ; a man like you ought to be excepted from 
ordinary rules. You could not have shown yourself more deli- 
cate as regards our flag, and every person here loves you.' 

" I took leave without farther explanation. I have felt my- 
self in an embarrassing situation on account of the king's patent, 
and I have as yet made no use of it, though three years have 
nearly elapsed since I received it. I wished to consult you ; 
but when I understood that you would not return to Europe, I 
consulted Mr. Short and Mr. G. Morris, who both gave me 
their opinion, that I may with propriety accept the advantage 
offered. I have in consequence determined to draw for the 
sum due, and I think you will not disapprove of this step, as it 
can by no means weaken the claim of the United States, but 
rather the contrary." 

He informed Mr. Jefferson also, that he had not yet been 
presented at court, but would shortly be so, by the Marquis de 
la Fayette ; spoke of transmitting one of his busts for the state 
of North Carolina, which had been requested by a member of 
Congress ; and which was to be decorated with the order of St. 
Anne, on the American uniform, if he should be authorized by 
the United States to wear that order, which authorization he 
solicited Mr. Jefferson to obtain for him ; and adverted to the 
condition of the American prisoners at Algiers, with whose situ- 
ation, he said, *' I continue to be deeply affected ; the more so, 
as I learn from the pirate now here, who took the greatest part 
of them, that if they are not very soon redeemed, they will be 



528 PAUL JONES. 

treated with no more lenity than is shown to other slaves. He 
told this to Mr. Littlepage, who repeated it to me." 

The letter from Mr. Littlepage, which accompanied that cited 
from, and which is referred to in it, was as follows : 

" You will share my regret in reflecting, that we were the 
principal means of engaging Admiral Sir John Paul Jones to 
accept the propositions made to him in 1788 by the Russian 
court. Never were more brilliant prospects held forth to an 
individual, and never individual better calculated to attain them. 
The campaign upon the Liman of 1788, added lustre to the 
arms of Russia, and ought to have established for ever the repu- 
tation and fortune of the gallant officer to whose conduct those 
successes were owing ; but unfortunately, in Russia, more per- 
haps than elsewhere, every thing is governed by intrigue. Some 
political motives, / have reason to think, concurred in depriving 
Admiral Paul Jones of the fruits of his services ; he was thought 
to be particularly obnoxious to the English nation, and the idea 
of paying a servile compliment to a power whose enmity occa- 
sions all the present embarrassments of Russia, induced some 
leading persons to ruin him in the opinion of the empress by an 
accusation too ridiculous to be mentioned. 

" It would be needless to enter into details ; you have too 
much confidence in Admiral Paul Jones to doubt the veracity 
of what he will personally communicate to you, and to which 
I refer you." 

In June of this year, as appears by the draft of a letter which 
is preserved, though without particular date or direction, the 
rear admiral, in addition to his ill state of body, and to the 
irritating state of inaction into which he was thrown, was 
really vexed by the delay he experienced in receiving the funds 
belonging to his private exchequer, which he had a right to 
look for. 

The last letter preserved, in which he indicates a wish to 
cling to his Russian engagements, is one to the Baron de 
Grimm, who was then at Bourbon le Bair, and which is dated 
July 9th. It was as follows : 



PAUL JONES. 529 

*' Sir — M. Houdon has sent to your house the bust which you 
have done me the honour to accept. Mademoiselle Marchais 
has informed me of all the obliging things you have said regard- 
ing my affairs. She has just toFd me, that the answer of the 
empress awaits you at Frankfort. As it is my duty to interest 
myself in objects that may be useful to Russia, I must inform 
you that I have met with a man here, whom I have known for 
fifteen years, who has invented a new construction of ships of 
war, which has small resemblance, either externally or inter- 
nally, to our present war-wiips, and which will, he suys, possess 
the following advantages over them : 

" I. The crew will be better sheltered dm ing an engage- 
ment. 

" II. The accommodations of the crew will ii)e more spacious; 
every individual may have a bed or a harritniK'k, and there may 
be as much air as is wished for, night and day, in the places for 
sleeping. 

" III. There will be less smoke during an engagement. 

" IV. A ship of the new construction, of 54 guns, if well 
armed and commanded, may face one of the old make of 80 or 
90, and need not run away from one of an hundred. 

, " V. That besides requiring less artillery, the new vessels 
would cost less in their construction ; and different sorts of wood, 
both dear and rare, required for the old vessels, might be dis- 
pensed with. 

" VI. A new ship, displaying to the eye all the majesty of her 
appointments, would have a more imposing appearance of 
power than another ; and would never be forced into an engage- 
ment, without stupid imprudence on the part of her com- 
mander. 

" VII. Vessels of the new construction, would add to many 
other advantages, that of greater facility in navigation, by sail- 
ing a quarter, or 11 degrees and 15 minutes, nearer the wind 
than the old ones, and swerving less from the course. 

" It is a long time since, in conjunction with my friend 
Dr. Franklin, I tried to devise the construction of a ship 

66 



530 PAUL JONES. 

which could be navigated without ballast, be ready for action at 
any time, draw less water, and at the same time drive little or 
not at all to leeward. We always encountered great obstacles. 
Since the death of that great philosopher, having too much 
time on my hands, I think I have surmounted the difficulties 
which baffled our researches. The ship-builder of whom I have 
spoken, has explained nothing to me in detail, and is altogether 
ignorant of my ideas on the subject. Being old, he wishes to 
preserve his invention, and to derive an annuity from it. No- 
thing can be more just, if on expei^nent his discovery holds ; 
and as it is a thing which appears to me to deserve the atten- 
tion of the empress, I beg of you to acquaint her majesty of it 
as soon as possible. This person wished to go to England to 
offer his discovery, where I think it would have been received ; 
but, as I have some influence with him, I have persuaded him 
to remain here, and wait your reply. If he receive any encou- 
ragement, he will communicate his ideas more fully to me. But 
in every case I would dedicate to the empress, without any sti- 
pvdation, all that my feeble genius has accomplished in naval 
architecture. I believe I have found out the secret of mounting 
on a ship of war, with the qualifications I have mentioned above, 
five batteries of whatever calibre is desired. Will not this, 
presuming it correct, be of great advantage to the infant ma- 
rine of the Black Sea, and consequently to the prosperity of the 
Russian empire .f"' 

The empress did reply to Grimm's letter,' communicating the 
rear admiral's suggestions ; she mentioned that there was 
a prospect of peace, and intimated that if she should have oc- 
casion for the services of Jones, she would communicate directly 
with him, without the necessity of the baron's intervention. 

There is among the loose papers preserved, a letter of the 
16th September, of this year, from a chevalier whose patrony- 
mic baffles curiosity, as his hand-writing was fine beyond con- 
ception. He informs the rear admiral, that in a conversation 
he had had with Admiral Digby on the day previous, that offi- 



PAUL JON£S. 531 

cer had expressed an anxious desire to become acquainted with 
him, and presses Jones to allow him to introduce him, at as early 
a day as possible, to the admiral's amiable family. This is 
mentioned as not unimportant in proving, that brave and en- 
lightened Englishmen were not imbued with the vulgar preju- 
dices which seem to have prevailed in their country in relation 
to this adopted son of America. Indeed, there are several others 
which refute such a supposition, that have not been mentioned ; 
among which are two from the Earl of Wemys, written in 1785, 
dated at his residence, the "Chateau de Cotandar," near Neuf- 
chatel, which refer to communications the earl had had with 
the Prince of Wirtemburgh, on subjects in which Jones was 
interested. He addresses him as " my dear commodore," and 
Jones in his replies calls him " my dear lord Wemys." These 
letters, with several others, have been omitted, because they 
needed explanations which the editor could not furnish. 

In November, he wrote Mr. Littlepage, who was then at 
Warsaw, congratulating him on the (abortive) revolution of Po- 
land, and transmitting a pamphlet published by the friend of his, 
whose schemes he had mentioned to Baron Grimm, which 
Jones wished to present to his Polish majesty. He mentions 
that Bancroft had paid him half the amount for which he was 
a creditor, and adds : " Before the month of May, I expect also 
to receive a considerable amount from other sources in Europe ; 
and, in America I have sundry tracts of land, and funds both in 
the bank, and in the public stocks ; so that, if I return to that 
country, I shall have the means of living independent, in a 
handsome style. I mention the above circumstances on account 
of the kind interest you take in all my concerns." 

The last letter written this year, which will be inserted, was 
addressed to the Marquis de la Fayette, and dated December 
7th. It shows that in the approach of the impending storm, 
his feelings towards the king were still benevolent. 

*' Dear General — My ill health for some time past, has pre- 
vented me from the pleasure of paymg you my personal re- 



532 PAUL JONES. 

spects, but I hope shortly to indulge myself with that satisfac- 
tion. 

" I hope you approve the quality of the fur-linings I brought 
from Russia for the king and yourself. I flatter myself that his 
majesty will accept from your hand that little mark of the sin- 
cere attachment I feel for his person ; and be assured, that I 
shall be always ready to draw the sword with which he honoured 
me for the service of the virtuous and illustrious ' protector 

OF THE RIGHTS OF HUMAN NATURE.' 

" When my health shall be re-established, M. Simolin will 
do me the honour to present me to his majesty as a Russian ad- 
miral. Afterwards it will be my duty, as an American officer, 
to wait on his majesty with the letter which I am directed to 
to present to him from the United States." 

It is to be presumed that sickness prevented Jones from taking 
any active part in the discussions and movements which were 
fast hurrying France into her long agony. The last letters of 
his whicTi will be cited, betray a morbid and querulous irasci- 
Jiility, which indicate that a diseased frame had affected a gal- 
lant but impatient spirit. Still they are characteristic. The 
following letter from the minister of marine was in reply to one 
from the rear admiral, demanding the arrearages of pay due 
to the crew of the Bon Homme Richard. His own personal 
claim on the French government amoiuited to 7,000 livres. 

From the Minister of Marine, to M. the Admiral Paul Jones. 

" Paris, February 21, 1792. 

" I have, Sir, had the accounts examined, relating to the re- 
clamation you have made of wages remaining due to the crew 
of the ship ' Le Bon Homme Richard.' I find that in the year 
1784, you presented that reclamation to the Marechal de Cas- 
tries ; upon which that minister refused to pay you the amount 
of those wages, and intimated to you that he would direct the 
American seamen to be paid by the French consuls, resident in 
the United States, and would settle at Paris or in the ports, 



PAUL JONES. 533 

with the French and foreign seamen, according to the amount 
of their demands. I find also that you were not contented with 
this decision, and sohcited again the dehvery into your own 
hands of the amount of those wages, offering M. Grand as se- 
curity: that upon this, M. de Castries required two separate ac- 
counts to be made ; one, of the wages due to American, English, 
Irish, and Scottish seamen ; and the other, of those due to Portu- 
guese, French, and others ; and these accounts amounted, the 
first to 25,338, 3, 1 livres ; the second to 5,115, 6, 9 livres ; 
and that these being submitted to the consideration of the min- 
ister, he approved of allowing to you 15,000 livres, to face the 
demands of the American seamen, on condition that M. Grand 
would be responsible for its payment. I have the honour, Sir, 
of observing to you, that it is the settled custom to pay to sea- 
men the balance of wages accruing to them, on discharging the 
vessel ; that as well on this account, as because the crew of the 
Bon Homme Richard was composed of seamen of different na- 
tions, of whose residence even you yourself were ignorant, M. 
de Castries having refused to settle with you the wages due to 
the crew, and consented only to pay 15,000 livres, to face the 
demands of the American seamen, on the guarantee of M. 
Grand to be responsible for its disbursement, it is proper you 
should explain how that disbursement was made. And it is 
also proper. Sir, before making to you another payment, that 
you should give me a statement in detail of the sums you paid, 
over and above the 15,000 livres, which you received in 1784, 
with the vouchers ; as you can only be indemnified for what you 
may have advanced of your own funds, the wages in question 
not being payable to yourself personally and directly. 

" De Bertrand." 

The following is a translation from the draft of an angry 
reply to this certainly too uncourteous and business-like epis- 
tle. It was not sent to the minister, as the tide of popular 
feeling ran high against the court, and he was compelled or saw 
fit to retire from office, on the 1 7th March. 



534 PAUL JONES. 

H^ " Paris, March 14, 1792. 

" Sir — Sickness has prevented me from replying sooner to 
the letter you caused to be sent to me, relative to the reclama- 
tion I made at the commencement of your administration, of 
the pay due by your government to a portion of the crew of the 
frigate Bon Homme Richard. Instead of complying with my 
just demand, after so long, and, as it seems to me, so unneces- 
sary a delay, you allow yourself to cast reflections on my con- 
duct, in relation to that affair, and seem to address yourself, in 
writing to me, as to an agent of the Marquis de Castries. 

" I should deem myself worthy of your reproaches, were I 
to pass them over in silence. 

" It is impossible, Sir, that you, who pride yourself, in your 
letters, on the accuracy and regularity of your bureau, and on 
being informed of the most minute particulars connected with 
your department ; it is impossible, I say, that you should not 
know who I am, or the motives which induced your court to 
invite me, through the ambassador of the United States, to leave 
the American frigate which I commanded at Brest, and repair 
immediately to Versailles. But, as you affect to have no know- 
ledge whatever of the great services which I have rendered to 
France, with means so inadequate, that I may perhaps say no 
one else ever undertook with the like, under such discouraging 
circumstances, enterprises of such moment, — ^you will permit me 
to complain, for the first time, of the not very generous, and 
even unjust treatment, which I have received in return, from 
two of your predecessors. While M. de Sartine was keeping 
me the first time, at court, the frigate I commanded set sail 
from Brest and returned to America. I lost all my crew, who 
were inveigled by the sailors, who falsely represented, during 
my absence, that the minister had prohibited the sale of their 
prizes. M. de Sartine amused me afterwards for a year ; and 
when I threatened to complain to the king and to the public of the 
manner in which I had been treated, he gave me orders to com- 
mand a naval force, badly equipped in all respects ; and in- 
trusted his own armament to a person so indiscreet, and such 



♦ PAUL JONES. 535 

an egoiste, that I should have refused the command with con- 
tempt, if I had not previously announced to Congress the flat- 
tering manner, in which, contrary to my intention, I had been 
invited by the court of France to remain in Europe. That 
ninister having sent me, under different pretexts and after 
various shifts, to all the French ports on the ocean, and to di- 
vers cannon foundries, saw fit to pay me a sum of money, to 
indemnify me for the expenses of my voyage, before giving me 
a military employment. This was done of his own accord, as 
I never demanded a farthing from him, in the shape of reward 
or indemnity. 

" As I could not accept a commission in the royal marine of 
France, without appearing to desert, in some measure, the Ame- 
rican cause, the minister consented that the force commanded 
by me should carry the flag, and be governed by the laws and 
commission of the United States. All the recompense I ask- 
ed, and this was solemnly granted me, was, that my prisoners 
should be exchanged for unfortunate Americans, taken at sea, 
and detained, by act of parliament, in English dungeons, as 
pirates. 

"Without entering into an exact detail of my perilous opera- 
tions, let us see how I was rewarded by the minister on my re- 
turn from the Texel and from Spain, to the French ports. 
Those who remained of the Bon Homme Richard's crew, my 
officers and myself, had lost all our effects when that rotten old 
vessel went down, after a conflict unexampled in history ; for 
she was not, as you seem to think, a ship of the line, but a bad 
sailer, fifteen years old, built for the merchant service, and badly 
armed with thirty-four twelve pounders. No one can run such 
risks as I did, for three consecutive months, in the Texel, blocka- 
ded inside by a Dutch fleet, and outside by several English 
squadrons, while a price was set on my head, and I was ex- 
posed to the treachery of individuals and the cupidity of ava- 
rice. 

" My fortitude and self-denial alone dragged Holland into the 
war ; a service of the greatest importance to this nation ; for 



536 PAUL JONES. 

""^without that great event, no calculation can ascertain when the 
war would have ended. 

" Would you suppose, Sir, that my prisoners, 600 in number, 
were treacherously taken out of my hands in the Texel, with 
two of my prizes, a new ship of war, pierced for 56 guns, and a 
frigate of 24 guns in one battery ? Would you suppose, that I was 
driven out of the Texel in a single frigate belonging to the United 
States, in the face of forty-two English ships, and vessels posted 
to cut off my retreat ? My prisoners were disposed of without 
my consent, and contrary to my intention. My prizes were all 
taken possession of, and some of them, particularly the ship of 
56 guns, degraded and cut to pieces before my eyes, and in con- 
tempt of my authority, though that ship, by the laws of the 
American flag, was the exclusive property of the captors. 

" You take me. Sir, to be a school-boy, when you say : ' J^ai 
Vhonneur de vous observer, monsieur, qiCil est toujmirs d'usage de 
fayer directement aux marins le decompte des salaires qui leur re- 
vierment au desarmement de hdtimens,'' I could not have sup- 
posed, Sir, that you had thought me so ignorant as to need that 
information seventeen years after I was first honoured with the 
rank of captain in the navy. Had this rule been followed in 
regard to the crew of the Bon Homme Richard, in pursuance 
of my reclamation at the time, I should never have said a word 
to you on that subject, much less on what personally regards 
myself. 

" Though my crews were almost naked, and had no money 
to purchase necessaries, yet my constant application to court 
for two months produced no relief, no payment whatever, either 
for salary or prize-money. I was on the point of sailing back 
to America, without any hope of obtaining justice ; without the 
least acknowledgment, direct or indirect, that the court was 
satisfied with my services ; when, in a moment of despair, I 
came to court to demand satisfaction. 

*' The minister of the United States accompanied me to M. 
Sartine, who gave us a reception as cold as ice, did not say to 
me a single word, nor ask me if my health had not suffered from 



PAUL JONES. 537 

my wounds and the uncommon fatigue I had undergone.* The 
pubhc did me more justice than the minister ; and I owe to the 
king alone the flattering marks of distinction with which I was 
honoured, — a gold sword, and the order of miUtary merit. 

" But I sohcited in vain for wages and prize-money, due to 
my crew ; and the minister of marine detained me so long, that 
the seamen of the American frigate 1 had left at L'Orient, de- 
spairing to obtain redress, revolted, and carried that frigate 
back to America. 

" With the remainder of the crew of the Bon Homme Richard, 
as prisoners, on account of their personal attachment to me, 
on this occasion again, I lost all my eflfects, without receiving 
any indemnity. 

" The crew of this frigate, and that of the Bon Homme Ri- 
chard, were paid on their arrival in America, according to the 
rolls which I had presented to the Marechal de Castries. Un- 
der what pretext of justice, then, could that minister take it 
upon himself, according to your suggestions, to mutilate and 
divide that roll ^ But the shuffling (chicane) of a man who can 
forfeit his word of honour, solemnly pledged ; who, to hide his 
disgrace, dares use the name of his sovereign for protection ; 
who, a hundred to one, never knew a word of the affair to 
which I allude ; the pitiful evasions of such a man, cannot sur- 
prise one who has for many years been accustomed to the base- 
ness and duplicity of some who are attached to courts. 

" Have any of the sailors in question, during twelve years, 
demanded their wages in France ? No ! and the reason is 
simple enough ; because they were paid by my orders on their 
arrival in America. 

" You enumerate to me six nations, and others, on the roll. 
Is it necessary to tell a man as well informed as yourself, that 
the citizens of the United States, sailors as well as those of 



* A fragment has been referred to containing this portion of the letter cited, in a 
previous page of this work. The whole draft of the letter came subsequently into 
the editor's hands. 

67 



538 PAUL JONES. 

Other vocations, belong to difFerent European nations, whose 
subjects obtain certain rights and privileges, the moment they 
set foot on free ground ? The anxiety you seem to feel for the 
imagined foreign seamen is, therefore, superfluous. 

" The king having intrusted me with a small frigate, I re- 
turned to America, and an agent was authorized to demand 
satisfaction for prize-money, &.c. 

" I continued to render good and faithful services to France, 

until the end of the war ; and, by express orders of the United 

States, made the last campaign in the fleet of M. de Vandreuil, 

which was destined to execute an enterprise against Jamaica ; 

an island about which I knew more than any other sea-officer 

of the squadron. 

" On the conclusion of peace, as the United States' agent had 

not been able, after three years' solicitation, to obtain any satis- 
faction from the court of France, Congress engaged me to 
accept a special commission, and to return to Europe, in order 
to finish this business. You thus perceive, Sir. that I was clothed 
with a character, rather more respectable than that of agent of 
the Marquis de Castries ; and I presume you will confess, that 
it was indecent in the minister to demand from me as surety, 
a banker, or any other person, in a matter in which I acted in 
the name of my sovereign, to whom alone I could be respon- 
sible. 

" It is hard for me to conceive how I could have adopted the 
course of employing M. Grand to write to M. de Castries, in 
relation to the salaries of sailors on the roll in question. I did 
wrong, certainly. I compromitted the honour of my mission. 
But the marechal only asked for security to insure himself 
against any claims which might be made by individuals after 
the termination of the business. 

" It is true, the Marquis de Castries pretended for a long 
time that I should give him security for the prize-money ; but I 
at last made him recede from the absurdity of that demand. I 
was detained in Europe four years ; and having in that time 
spent sixty thousand livres of my own money, I received for my 



PAUL JONES. 539 

share of all the prizes, as commander of the Bon Homme, thir- 
teen thousand livres ! 

" This seems extraordinary, and demands explanation. It 
will probably suffice to say, that I had only obtained, by the 
final liquidation, a seventh of the price which the ship of war 
cost the British government before the capture; and that the 
merchantmen were paid for in nearly the same way. I have 
yet to learn, by what rule, and under what pretext of justice, 
the government interfered in this matter, retarded the settle- 
ment so long, and finally, arbitrarily determined on the rights 
of the captors, in a manner so incompatible with the character 
of a great and generous nation, and so contrary to the laws of 
the American flag. I knew an officer who lost a frigate less 
honourably than I lost the Bon Homme Richard, and I have 
heard it stated that he received fifty thousand livres as a grati- 
fication. I have received nothing, though I have thrice lost all 
my effects in the service. I have never been reimbursed for 
the expenses of my table, as commander, and you may see by 
the rolls in your bureaux, that my name is in blank, and that I 
have also received no salary. 

*' But what aflfects me most sensibly is, that my officers and 
crew on board of the Bon Homme Richard, did not receive any 
gratification, and were treated in all respects in a manner un- 
worthy of the essential services they rendered. I except three 
subjects of France, who served with me at the same time, and 
who have rewards and a pension. 

" Permit me to compare this treatment with that the French 
officers received who served in the American army. The war 
had been carried on for several years by the Americans alone ; 
and there is no instance where the United States invited a 
French officer to enter into their service. Such as presented 
themselves and were accepted, have all of them bettered their 
situation by that connexion. At the end of the war, they re- 
ceived a gratification of five years' pay, the order of Cincinnatus, 
and a lot of land ; and they enjoy grades superior to what they 
could have attained under other circumstances. If we except 



540 PAUL JONES. 

the Marquis de la Fayette, they were all poor when they went 
to America. They are all now in easy circumstances ; and 
have, ever since the peace, received six per cent, on their funds 
in America. In short, they have been treated much better than 
the Americans themselves, who served from the beginning to 
the end of the revolution. 

" I pray you. Sir, to lay this letter before the king. It con- 
tains many things out of the general rule of delicacy which 
marks my proceedings, and which, on any other occasion less 
affecting to my sensibility, would never have escaped from my 
tongue or pen. 

" His majesty has in his hands an account of my campaigns, 
supported by proofs. I shall have the honour of presenting my- 
self at court, with a letter which the United States have in- 
trusted me with, to be personally delivered to their great and 
good ally. As I have hitherto been the dupe and victim of my 
modesty, and especially as you appear to make no account of 
my services and sacrifices, I am persuaded I shall gain much 
by increasing the number of my judges. I flatter myself, how- 
ever, that your justice will spare me the repugnance I should 
feel in taking such measures, though I know that public opinion 
would be favourable to me." 

M. Bertrand de Moleville having been succeeded in his office 
by M. de la Coste, Jones re-opened his negotiations, or intended 
to have done so, immediately. The letter is dated in the same 
month, (March,) but the day of the month is not inserted. It 
is probably the last letter of the kind that he wrote. 

Rear Admiral Paul Jones to the Minister of the French Marine. 

" Paris, March, 1792. 

" Sir — In the beginning of the administration of your prede- 
cessor, I informed him, that this government, not having paid 
the salary due to a part of the crew of the Bon Homme Ri- 
chard at the time when they were discharged from the service, 
they had been paid on their arrival at Boston ; and having my 



PAUL JONES. 541 

self been sent back here after the war, under a special commis- 
sion from the United States, to settle the claims of my crews, I 
presented a memorial, reclaiming that part of the salary that 
had never been reimbursed. The minister held me in suspense 
for about five months, and then to my great surprise, instead 
of satisfying my just demand, he addressed me in a very unci- 
vil letter, treating me, as I conceive, like a schoolboy, and per- 
mitting himself to cast unjust and uncivil reflections on my past 
conduct. My health did not permit me to answer immediately ; 
but I had prepared a letter, and was just going to send it, when 
I learned that he had resigned his place as the minister of the 
marine, and that you were named as his successor. 

" I request the favour. Sir, that you may read this letter and 
my answer ; after which I persuade myself you will do justice 
to my first demand, which is merely official. As to my personal 
pretensions, I never should have set up a claim on that score 
under circumstances less affecting to my sensibility. Of this I 
need offer no other proof than my silence in that respect for 
twelve years past. My losses and unavoidable expenses dur- 
ing my long connexion with this nation, amount to a large sum, 
and have greatly lessened my fortune. I have given solemn 
proofs of my great attachment towards France, and that at- 
tachment still remains undiminished. I persuade myself that I 
may with full assurance repose my interests through your mi- 
nistry on the national justice. I have the honour to be," &c. 

From this time the symptoms of Jones rapidly grew alarm- 
ing and unequivocal. He was seized with jaundice, to which 
dropsy succeeded, and he died on the 18th July. The following 
letters of M. Beaupoil and Colonel Blackden to the sisters of 
the rear admiral, furnish the best account of his last moments, 
and the manner of his death. 

" Letter of M. Beaupoil to either Mrs. Taylor or Mrs. Loudon, 
sisters of Paul Jones, Esq. Admiral in the Russian service. 
" Madam — I am sorry to acquaint you that your brother, 

Admiral Paul Jones, my friend, paid yesterday the debt we all 



542 PAUL JONES. 

owe to nature. He has made a will, which is deposited in the 
hands of Mr. Badinier, notary, St. Servin street, Paris. The 
will was drawn in English, by Mr. Governor Morris, minister 
of the United States, and translated faithfully by the French 
notary aforesaid. The admiral leaves his property, real and 
personal, to his two sisters and their .children. They are named 
in the will as being married, one to William Taylor, and the 

other to Loudon, of Dumfries. The executor is Mr. 

Robert Morris, of Philadelphia. If I could be of any service to 
you in this business, out of the friendship I bore your brother, 
I would do it with pleasure. I am a Frenchman and an officer. 
I am sincerely yours, 

"Beaupoil. 

' Paris, July 19, 1792, No. 7, Hotel Anglais, 
Passage des Petits Peres." 

" The Enghsh will is signed by Colonels Swan, Blackden, 
and myself. The schedule of his property lying in Denmark, 
Russia,. France, America, and elsewhere, is signed by Mr. Mor- 
ris, and deposited by me in his bureau, with the original will. 
Every thing is sealed up at his lodgings, Tournon street. No. 
42, Paris. 

"You may depend also on the good services of Colonel Black- 
den, who was an intimate friend of the admiral's. That gen- 
tleman is setting out for London, where you may hear of him 
at No. 18, Great Tichfield Street, London." 

" Colonel Blackden to Mrs. Taylor, of Dumfries, eldest sister oj 

Admiral Paid Jones. 

" Great Tichfield Street, London, August 9th. 

" Madam — I had the honour of receiving your letter of the 
3d instant, and shall answer you most readily. Your brother, 
Admiral Jones, was not in good health for about a year, but 
had not been so unwell as to keep house. For two months past 
he began to lose his appetite, to grow yellow, and show signs of 
the jaundice ; for this he took medicine, and seemed to grow 

■ 'If 



PAUL JONES. 543 

better ; but about ten days before his death his legs began to 
swell, which increased upwards, so that two days before his exit 
he could not button his waistcoat, and had great difficulty of 
breathing. 

" I visited him every day, and, beginning to be apprehensive 
of his danger, desired him to settle his affairs ; but this he put 
off till the afternoon of his death, when he was prevailed on to 
send for a notaire, and made his will. Mr. Beaupoil and myself 
witnessed it at about 8 o'clock in the evening, and left him sit- 
ting in a chair. A few minutes after we retired, he walked into 
his chamber, and laid himself upon his face, on the bed-side, 
with his feet on the floor ; after the queen's physician arrived, 
they went into the room, and found him in that position, and 
upon taking him up, they found he had expired. 

" His disorder had terminated in dropsy of the breast. His 
body was put into a leaden coffin on the 20th, that in case the 
United States, whom he had so essentially served, and with so 
much honour to himself, should claim his remains, they might 
be more easily removed. This is all. Madam, that I can say 
concerning his illness and death. 

" I most sincerely condole with you, Madam, upon the loss of 
my dear and respectable friend, for whom I entertained the 
greatest affection, and as a proof of it, you may command the 
utmost exertion of my feeble abilities, which shall be rendered 
with cheerfulness. I have the honour to be. Madam, your most 
obedient and humble servant, 

" S. Blackden." 

It will be seen from these letters, that though suffering se 
verely from bodily affliction, and no doubt equally from mental 
restlessness and disquietude, Jones did not die without the sym- 
pathy and succour of respectable friends, nor in obscurity and 
actual want, as has been surmised, and indeed stated, in some 
notices of his life. The credentials of his excellency Governor 
Morris, as minister plenipotentiary to the court of France, had 
been forwarded to him from America in the latter end of Janu- 



544 v^ PAUL JONES. 

ary preceding, at which time, it is to be inferred from a letter of 
Mr. Jefferson to him,* he was not in Paris. With him, there- 
fore, Jones could not have had a long intercourse ; but it is 
known, that though he was not present at the rear admiral's 
funeral, the ambassador showed him every attention, and it ap- 
pears from his attest to a schedule, that he was with him on the 
day before his death. 

One ray of brightness might have gilded the gloom which over- 
hung the latter days of Jones' life ; but there is little reason to 
believe that he was cheered by beholding it. He might have 
learned, that the United States had yet business for him to exe- 
cute, in which the feelings of our citizens were deeply enlisted ; 
and the management of which, in the opinion of government, 
required both dexterity and energy. It was a business, too, in 
relation to which he had for several years previous expressed 
his ardent desire to be useful. But the mission came too late. 
On the 1st June, Mr. Jefferson wrote to him from Philadel- 
phia,t informing him that the president had thought proper to 
appoint him commissioner for treating with the Dey and gov- 
ernment of Algiers, on the subjects of peace and ransom of 
American captives, remaining in the power of that regency. 
A knowledge of the appointment was to rest with the president, 
Mr. Pinckney, who had just been appointed minister to Eng- 
land, and Mr. Jefferson. The secret instructions given in the 
letter are of much interest. If testimony were wanting of the 
confidence reposed by the secretary of state in the shrewdness, 
discretion, and energy of .Tones, his being employed in this trust 
would sufficiently supply it. 

The national assembly paid his memory the honour of send- 
ing a deputation of twelve of their body to attend the funeral.| 



• Jefferson's Writings, III. 168. t lb. 171. 

t The following is an extract from the proc6s-verbal of the National Assembly, on 
the 19th July, 1792, 4th year of liberty. 

" The National Assembly, desirous of honouring the memory of Paul Jones, Admi- 
ral of the United States of America, and to preserve, by a memorable example, the 



PAUL JONES. 545 

He was buried at Paris on the 20th July, and the following 
funeral discourse was pronounced over his grave by Mr. Mar- 
ron, a protestant clergyman of Paris : 

[translation.] 

" Discourse pronounced hy Mr. Marron, officiating Protestant 
Clergyman, at the funeral of Admiral Paul Jones, July 20, 
1792, in Paris. 

" Legislators ! citizens ! soldiers ! friends ! brethren ! and 
Frenchmen ! we have just returned to the earth the remains 
of an illustrious stranger, one of the first champions of the lib- 
erty of America ; of that liberty which so gloriously ushered in 
our own. The Semiramis of the north had drawn him under 
her standard, but Paul Jones could not long breathe the pesti- 
lential air of despotism ; he preferred the sweets of a private life 
in France, now free, to the eclat of titles and of honours, which, 
from a usurped throne, were lavished upon him by Catharine. 
The fame of the brave outlives him ; his portion is immortality. 
What more flattering homage could we pay to the manes of 
Paul Jones, than to swear on his tomb to live or to die free ? It 
is the vow, it is the watch-word of every Frenchman. 

" Let never tyrants, nor their satellites, polute this sacred 
earth ! May the ashes of the great man, too soon lost to 
humanity, and eager to be free, enjoy here an undisturbed re- 
pose ! Let his example teach posterity the effbrts which noble 
souls are capable of making, when stimulated by hatred to op- 
pression. Friends and brethren, a noble emulation brightens in 
your looks ; your time is precious ; the country is in danger ! 
Who amongst us would not shed the last drop of their blood to 
save it ? Associate yourselves to the glory of Paul Jones, in imi- 
tating him in his contempt of dangers, in his devotedness to his 



equality of religious rites, decrees, that twelve of its members shall assist at the funeral 
rites of a man who has served so well the cause of liberty." This resolution is trans- 
lated from a certified copy, signed on the 29th March, in the following year. 



546 PAUL JONES. 

country, in his noble heroism, which, after having astonished 
the present age, will continue to be the imperishable object of 
the veneration of future generations !" 

" Testament of Paul Jones, 18th July, 1792. 

" Before the undersigned notaries, at Paris, appeared Mr. 
John PaulJones, citizen of the United States of America, resi- 
dent at present in Paris, lodged in the street of Tournon, No. 
42, at the house of Mr. Dorberque, liuissier audiancier of the 
tribunal of the third arrondissement, found in a parlour in the 
first story above the floor, lighted by two windows opening on 
the said street of Tournon, sitting in an arm-chair, sick of body, 
but sound of mind, memory, and understanding, as it appeared 
to the undersigned notaries by his discourse and conversation, — 

" Who, in view of death, has made, dictated, and worded, to 
the undersigned notaries, his testament as follows : 

" I give and bequeath all the goods, as well moveable as 
heritable, and all, generally, whatever may appertain to me at 
my decease, in whatever country they may be situated, to my 
two sisters, Janette, spouse to William Taylor, and Mary, wife 
to Mr. Loudon, and to the children of my said sisters, to divide 
them into as many portions as my said sisters and their children 
shall make up individuals, and to be enjoyed by them in the fol- 
lowing manner : 

" My sisters, and those of their children, who on the day of my 
death shall have reached the age of twenty-one, will enjoy their 
share in full property from the date of decease. As for those of 
my nephews and nieces who at that period of time may not reach 
the age of twenty-one years, their mothers will enjoy their 
shares till such time as they attain that said age, with charge 
to them to provide for their food, maintenance, and education ; 
and as soon as any of my nephews or nieces will have reached 
the age of twenty-one years, the same will enjoy his share in full 
property. 

" If one or more of my nephews and nieces should happen to 
die without children before having reached the age of twenty- 



PAUL JONES. 547 

one, the shate of those of them who may have deceased shal) 
be divided betvk^ixt my said sisters and my ot^ier nephews and 
nieces by equal portions. 

" I name the Honourable Robert Morris, Esq. of Philadel- 
phia, my only testamentary executor. 

" I revoke all other testaments or codicils which I may have 
made before the present, which alone I stand by as containing 
my last will. 

" So made, dictated, and worded, by said testator, to the said 
notaries undersigned, and afterwards read, and read over again 
to him by one of them, the other being present, which he well 
understood, and persevered in, at Paris, the year 1792, the 18th 
July, about five o'clock afternoon, in the room heretofore de- 
scribed, and the said testator signed the original of the present, 
unregistrated, at Paris, the 25th September, 1792, by Defrance, 
who received one livre, provisionally, save to determine defini- 
tively the right after the declaration of the revenue of the testa- 
tor. The original remained with Mr. Pottier, one of the 
notaries at Paris, undersigned, who delivered these presents this 
day, 26th September, J 792, first of the French republic. 

(( Pottier. 

" (Signed) L'AvERNiER." 

[Copy.] 

" Schedule of the property of Admiral John Paul Jones, as stated 
hy him to me this ISth of Jidy, 1792. 

" 1. Bank stock in the Bank of North America, at Phila- 
delphia, 6000 dollars, with sundry dividends. 

" 2. Loan-Office certificate left with my friend Mr. Ross, of 
Philadelphia, for two thousand dollars, at par, with great ar- 
rearages of interest, being for ten or twelve years. 

" 3. Such balance as may be in the hands of my said friend 
John Ross, belonging to me, and sundry effects left in his care. 

" 4. My lands in the state of Vermont. 



548 PAUL JONES. 

" 5. Shares in the Ohio Company.* 

" 6. Shares in the Indiana Company. 

" 7. About ,£1800 sterling due to me from Edward Bancroft, 



* An advertisement appeared in the American papers, dated Marietta, May 20th, 
1796, giving information, that John Paul Jones was a proprietor of five shares, or 
5867 acres, in a tract purchased by the Ohio Company, in the United States territory, 
for which a deed would be given, on the application of his heirs or representatives. 
One of these advertisements, cut from a paper, now before me, was, as appears by the 
letter to which it is attached, transmitted to Mr. Taylor, of Dumfries, by the eldest son 
of Sir Alexander Gordon, of Culvenan, at the request of the Earl of Selkirk. 

The following memorandum, translated, as appears from certain erasures, from the 
French, (the original is not found among the papers,) is a recapitulation by Jones, 
of his services rendered to the United States, and the honours he received from 
France and America. Let him be allowed to sum them up himself. The date is not 
inscribed on the paper. 

" In 1775, J. Paul Jones armed and embarked in the first American ship of war. In 
the revolution he had twenty-three battles and solemn rencountres by sea; made 
seven descents in Britain and her colonies ; took of her navy two ships of equal, and 
two of far superior force, many store ships, and others ; constrained her to fortify her 
ports ; suffer the Irish volunteers ; desist from her cruel burnings in America, and ex- 
change, as prisoners of war, the American citizens, taken on the ocean and cast into 
prisons in England as ' traitors, pirates, and felons !' In his perilous situation in Hol- 
land, his conduct drew the Dutch into the war, and eventually abridged the revolution. 

HONOURS — BY LOUIS XVI. 

" The order of military merit, and a gold sword, June 28th, 1780. 

BY CONGRESS. 

" The thanks of the United States, April 14, 1781. Elected first officer of the navy, 
June 26, 1781. Presented with a gold medal, October 16, 1787. 

" This favour was granted to only six officers. 1st. General Washington, comman- 
der in chief, for the taking of Boston. 2d. General Gates, for taking the army of Gene- 
ral Burgoyne. 3d. To General Wayne, for taking Rocky Point, of which the gar- 
rison was much stronger than the assailants. 4th. To General Morgan, for having cut 
down and destroyed a detachment of eleven hundred officers and soldiers of the best 
troops of England, with nine hundred men solely militia. 5th. To General Green, for 
having gained a decisive victory over the enemy at Eutaw Springs. But all these 
medals, although well merited, were given in the moments of enthusiasm. He had 
the satisfaction solely to receive the same honour by the unanimous voice of the United 
States assembled in Congress, the 16th October, 1787, in memory of services which 
he had rendered eight years before." 



PAUL JONES. 549 

unless paid by him to Sir Robert Herries, and is then in his 
hands. 

" 8. Upwards of four years of my pension due from Denmark, 
to be asked from the Count de Bernstorf. 

" 9. Arrearages of ray pay from the empress of Russia, and all 
my prize-money. 

" 10. The balance due to me by the United States of America, 
of sundry claims in Europe, which will appear from my papers. 

" This is taken from his mouth. 

"GovERNEUR Morris." 

Several papers and vouchers, nominally for a considera- 
ble value, were certified by Mr. Robert Hyslop, of New York, 
in 1797, to have been left in his hands, " belonging to the estate 
of the late Commodore Jones." The value of most of them, it 
would seem from the inventory, was merely nominal, so far as 
money could be recovered upon them. 

Whatever claim Jones might have had upon this government, 
none has ever been urged since the partial settlement of his ac- 
counts in 1787, of which his correspondence and the accompany- 
ing documents make any mention. His representatives were 
more fortunate, in obtaining a partial payment from France. 
His sister, Mrs. Taylor, set out from Scotland for Paris, in the 
month of October, next after his death, and after some adven- 
tures, almost romantic, succeeded in obtaining shelter, and an 
introduction, which enabled her to appear in person before 
the national assembly, and present her claim. Payment was 
ordered ; but she was obliged to escape, and find her way home 
through tumult and danger, after all her acquaintances had left 
the capital, before she had received the whole amount. She 
was in the city, when Louis XVI. suffered, a spectacle her 
brother was spared from witnessing. His remains mouldered 
quietly in the spot where they were deposited, while the storms 
of revolution roared over them unheard. 

His papers were among the articles belonging to him, which 
Mrs. Taylor was enabled to secure. Three days after she left 



550 PAUL JONES. 

Paris, Mr. White, Maitre d'Hotel Anglais, with whom she had 
lodged, was arrested, and his effects were seized. A gentleman 
who had been a particular acquaintance of Mrs. Taylor, and 
an Irishman who had acted as her valet de place, were 
guillotined. 

In the personal appearance of Paul Jones there was nothing, 
if we may credit the statement of those who remember him, and 
among these, of ladies, who are perhaps the best judges; nor is 
there any thing in the busts or pictures taken of him, that would 
have particularly attracted attention. He was of the middle 
size, if not rather under ; naturally active in body, and capable 
of undergoing much fatigue, as is evident from the record of his 
life which has been presented. His bust, by Houdon, of which 
several copies remain in this country, is behoved to be the best 
representation of his features ever made. Their character is 
that of decision and self-will. 

His occupations, from boyhood until long after the period 
when the social habits of men are generally developed, were such 
as to preclude us from forming an estimate of what these would 
naturally have been, under other circumstances. His attachment 
to his near relations, of whom he saw so little from the period 
of his childhood, and nothing, after a hasty visit paid to 
them when he was in his twenty-fourth year, is sufficiently 
shown by his correspondence, and the last act of his life. It 
became, of course, necessary for him to adopt the manners of 
the different courts and circles into which he was introduced ; 
and, though he could not have been a polished courtier, it is as 
obvious that he was not rude and inapt. The frankness, and 
even the innocent vanity which may, perhaps, have charac- 
terized his demeanour on such occasions, are certainly allied to 
good nature, simplicity of heart, and a love for the family of 
man. The testimony of many of his officers, and the crews 
that served under him, rendered in different publications since 
his death, is not wanting to prove that, though a practical as 
well as a theoretical stickler for discipline, he was sincerely 
liked and revered among them. The late Commodore Dale, 



PAUL JONES. 551 

in relating anecdotes of his cruise under him, and their whole 
intercourse, always spoke of him as " Paul " simply, and as of a 
friend whom he had loved and lost. In these different rela- 
tions, therefore, and in the constant expressions of his craving 
desire to mitigate the woes, and break the fetters of mankind, 

" Where'er degiaded nature bleeds and pines," 

we can detect no elements of an organization, which could have 
made him, as tradition has reported, " an unpleasant com- 
panion in a stage-coach." 

That his temperament was ardent, impatient, and irritable, 
may not be denied. That he was enabled to subdue its first 
impulses, on occasions where important interests were at stake, 
should add to his fame the glory of victories, often more difficult 
than those which he gained on the ocean. We shall not take 
into account a few letters written under the combined pressure 
of disease and undeserved disappointment, when we say, that 
he never forfeited his own self-respect, nor was it ever misled 
or " frighted" from its propriety. In relation to his personal 
diflTerences with individuals, idle stories have been in circula- 
tion, some of which have not become entirely obsolete; but 
they are all, where their truth might reflect discredit upon 
Jones, utterly without foundation, as a simple comparison of 
dates will prove. His treatment of the eccentric Landais, was 
precisely such as the conduct of that officer called for, after 
Jones truly understood his character, and the persecution against 
him had been dropped. Yet it was such as it is difficult for a 
man of common passions, not under subjection to high-souled 
principles, and an unequivocal consciousness of rectitude and 
superiority, to observe, at all times, without making some de- 
monstration of anger, or exhibiting some sign of pain.* 



* Since the pages of the first part of this volume were stereotyped, the compiler 
has found a statement wiiich appeared in the New York newspaper called the 
Argus, on the 30th October, 1787, signed by James Milligan, containing a precisely 
worded account of what happened on one occasion, when Landais passed Jones in 



552 PAUL JONES. 

His natural temper being duly considered, the education 
which Jones received, or rather acquired, will much more 
readily account for what may be deemed his infirmities, than 
for the successes he attained, and the honours he won with such 
chivalrous daring, and wore with such chivalrous pride. He 
must be allowed to have possessed intellectual faculties much 
above those of ordinary men ; and such as were precisely wanted 
for the services which our young republic required him to exe- 
cute. The energy, accuracy, and propriety of his style of wri- 
ting, shew that he thought, as well as expressed himself, with 
an order and regularity which can never belong to an undisci- 
plined mind. At the same time, he thought earnestly and solely 
with a reference to the point which he wished to carry ; and 
went into negotiation as he went into battle, with no wish to 
waste any ammunition, or lose any time in manoeuvring. He 
was, of course, according to the manners of his age, a better 
partizan-warrior than diplomatist. 

The elements which constitute a hero were liberally mixed 
up in his character. He had courage, humanity, liberality ; 
a romantic admiration of woman; the art of commanding ; the 



the street, which may have been the same with that alluded to ia a note in the Ap- 
pendix to Part I. The substance of this communication is, that on the 20th October, 
about noon, the narrator accidentally met Jones in Water-street, at the upper end of 
Governeur's Alley. After conversing two or three minutes, Landais came down the 
street, towards them, which Milligan mentioned to Jones, whose back was towards 
Landais. Landais passed very slowly, and kept his eyes on them with a kind of smile in 
his countenance, till he was about six or seven yards distant, when, looking at Milli- 
gan more particularly, he said,, "I spit in his face." Whenhe had walked on, the nar- 
rator asked Jones if he had understood what Landais said. He answered, "No, I did 
not hear him." Mr. Milligan did not inform Jones what the words were, observed 
that his countenance was perfectly tranquil and composed, and had no idea whatever 
that the action of which Landais spoke had been attempted. 

Jones saw fit to add to the certificate, of which the foregoing is the substance, the fol- 
lowing words, with his signature annexed : " My respect for the public has induced me 
to establish the falsity of the report of Peter Landais, by the above relation of Mr. Mil- 
ligan, the only evidence in question. The original is in my hands. Having dis- 
charged that duty, I shall not condescend to reply to any thing that may be said or 
published by a person of his known character." 



PAUL JONES. 553 

power of conceiving projects fraught with danger to the foe ; of 
planning the details, and bringing them, by the mastery of his 
own practical genius to a successful result : ambition that was 
checked in its speculative mood by no other restraint than that 
of principle ; and the inextinguishable love of glory, which gave 
its own golden hues to all his doings, sufferings, and aspirations. 
And surely that for which he fought remains, though the light 
has long since faded away from his vision. 

He was, as has been remarked in the course of this compila- 
tion, precisely one of those men whom America wanted, and 
whom Providence in its wisdom raised up for the exigency. 
The very defects of his education, and even of his temper, were 
advantages to a cause where positive energy was invoked. He 
must and will be honoured among the foremost patriots whose 
services in battle the people of this republic are bound to hold 
in hallowed remembrance. It must be borne in mind, that the 
seeming frequency of his allusions to his own successes, in the 
foregoing pages, arises from the necessity of throwing together 
„ the correspondence of a series of years, addressed to individuals 
and public functionaries, and bodies widely separated by space 
and in political intercourse. It can scarcely be said, that he has 
exaggerated the utility, and certainly not the merit of his enter- 
prises or performances. No naval commander, who sailed 
under the stars and stripes during the revolution, and " brought 
the red cross low," can claim more respectful notice in Qur an- 
nals, than the sailor boy from the shores of Solway Frith ; who 
knew how to fight for the "rights of human nature," but was 
mistaken when he thought he could maintain his own inde- 
pendence, and reap laurels, in the service of a female autocrat, 
and under the orders of her luxurious and spoiled favourite, 
whose origin was still more humble than his own. 

Franklin and Jefferson duly appreciated his value. They 
gave him every proof of their entire confidence, and have left 
behind them their testimony to his courage, intelligence, and 
usquestioned fidelity. The latest evidence of this, too lately 
given to console even the dying moments of one whose blood 

69 



554 PAUL JONES. 

and whose talents were devoted without reserve to the liberty 
of man, was furnished by Mr. Jefferson, when he recommended 
the admiral as a proper agent to redeem American captives 
from bondage in Algiers. Another name, no less illustrious, 
may be cited — that of one thrice happy, and thrice honoured ; 
and whose crowning glory places him in a moral attitude which 
no living individual can hope to attain. Can history supply a 
parallel ? 

La Fayette was the friend of Paul Jones. He was willing 
to have co-operated with him in one of the enterprises he had 
projected. He bears record to his high and stainless character 
as an officer, and as a man. 

It is probable that the extravagant stories and ridiculous 
legends, circulated orally and in print, have excited a curiosity 
in relation to the life and character of Jones, which does not at- 
tach to that of many others, whose gallantry was equal to his 
own, but whom circumstances did not place in so prominent a 
point of view, or about whom there was less mystery, and less 
lying. He was one of those gallant men, whose exploits are wor- 
thy of being recorded ; and whose example has been so well imi- 
tated, that the cause of freedom is almost by a millenium in 
advance of what might have been prudently anticipated a hun- 
dred years ago. In his fond devotion to that holy cause, Columbia 
was his muse; the doctrines of the fathers of our independence 
were the articles of his creed ; and, by what has been narrated or 
quoted, in relation to his latter moments, it has been seen, that 
then, like a true religionist of whatever sect, turning his face 
towards the star, the region, or the temple of his idolatry, he 
looked last to the United States of America, the youngest of 
nations, before he died. When he fought under the flag which 
is now respected on the all-encompassing ocean, wherever its 
pulse agitates the meanest stream which pays to the sea its 
lawful tribute, he knew of but one land of freedom. Under that 
pictured constellation, conveying a meaning far more useful 
and sublime than eastern sages ever read or chronicled in their 
observaJ^.ions of the firmament ; under this banner, which he 



PAUL JONES. 555 

first had the happy privilege of raising with his own hands, he 
sailed, as from the birth-place, and as bearing the ensign, of 
Liberty. The ocean which he traversed, to maintain the holy 
cause in which he had embarked, was one, and indivisible, save 
by fragile barriers, which could only make stagnant a portion 
of its waters, incalculably small, and the loss of which the foun- 
tains of the great deep would instantaneously supply. 

To this constellation he looked for his guidance, in the vari- 
ous courses on which he steered in his voyage of life. Can we 
better conclude this compilation of his shreds of autobiography 
than by hoping, that no one of those stars may ever " shoot 
madly from its sphere ;" and that this banner may float, 
during all time, the truly blazoned emblem of " armed and 
awful" freedom ? 

" For ever float that standard sheet .'" 

And while it does float, there will be no true servant of his 
country, whether intrusted by her with authority in her marine, 
or doing his duty therein in the humblest office, who will not 
revere the memory, rejoice in the glory, and sometimes sigh 
for the crosses and disappointments of John Paul Jones. 



FINIS. 



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